Judging A Book By It's Cover
by babylove969
Summary: This story is about what the Team's reaction was to Reid joining the team. There is't any information as to how the Team took to Reid's appearance or how it came about. So I decided to write about it.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: They never tell you or show you what it was like when Reid first joined the BAU. So this is my take on Reid coming into the BAU at the young age of 22 and how everyone took to it. There will be a character that I made up for the purpose of this story. Plus we really don't know who was on the team when Reid first joined so why not.**

Chapter 1

Morgan was sitting at his desk down in the bullpen. He was trying to focus on his paperwork, but that never really went well when he and Agent Jordan were together. They were really close some would say best friends. They had understood each other and had a bond between them that no one would deny was there. Both Agent Morgan and Agent Jordan had been police officers in the past before becoming a Fed. Morgan was in Chicago his home city and Jordon was in New York his home city so they even grew up near each other. Both came from bad neighborhoods and lost their father at an early age. They two had a lot in common so it only made sense that they became close very quickly. Morgan was on the team just a month before Jordan came into the picture. Morgan was relieved when his supervisor Agent Hotchner had informed them that they were getting a new member. He was even more relieved when he saw that Jordan was a 6'2 built like an ox white guy that could easily tackle an UnSub. For the most part of the month he had been there it really had been his job. Agent Hotchner was an older man in his late thirties early forties so he was a little past his prime. His boss was Agent Gideon and he was even older so he wasn't about to kick down doors and tackle anyone. Which Morgan honestly didn't mind both his superiors were very good at what they did and had great minds. The other member of the team was a media liaison named Jennifer they all called her JJ though she wasn't a profiler she didn't deal with UnSubs she dealt with the press and the media outlets she also would help interview grieving families. So needless to say Morgan was happy when another built younger man like himself came onto the team. It helped make his job easier plus it was nice to know someone else could give a good fight in case he got in trouble.

Today Morgan was having an even harder time focusing on his paperwork for today they were set to get a new agent. Who the agent was he didn't know Gideon had kept it a secret even from Hotch. Which to Morgan was odd, because those two always talked about everything regarding work. So for Gideon to keep this new agent a secret must mean there's something he doesn't want them to know about. Morgan was brought out of his thoughts by Jordan speaking to him.

"Hey man do you know who this new agent is supposed to be?"

"Naw and it's really weird that even Hotch doesn't know. I mean what is Gideon hiding about this new agent. We don't even know if it's a guy or a girl."

"Well if it's a girl I hope she's smoking hot that would definitely make the paperwork more interesting. Not to mention if we have to share hotel rooms."

"Ya because I'm so sure Gideon would allow that to happen."

"I can dream can't I?"

"That's all you'll be doing."

"Well in any sense I just hope it's not someone useless. Like some wet behind the ears rookie that's no good for being in the field. We need someone we know can handle having our backs not someone that can't handle a few dead bodies."

"The BAU is hard man not everyone can cut it, but I understand what you mean. We need more people that are able to take down an UnSub and stand a chance in a fight. I mean no offense to Gideon or Hotch but they are getting a little up there to be going toe to toe with someone."

"No doubt."

With that Hotch and Gideon came out of their offices and headed towards the conference room.

"BAU team conference room now." Hotch said from the balcony as he headed down the hall to the conference room. Morgan and Jordan made their way up the stairs as JJ walked down the hall from her office into the conference room. Once there they all took a seat as Gideon stood at the front to address them all.

"As you know today we will be getting a new agent. One that I am very excited about getting. He will be here momentarily and we will also be heading out for a case once he does arrive for the briefing. His name is Dr. Spencer Reid. He has three PHDs…"

"So wait he's a doctor, doctor, doctor?" Jordan joked

"Yes technically he is. He has doctorates in Engineering, Mathematics and Chemistry as well as two B.A's one in philosophy and the other in psychiatry."

"What is this guy like fifty?" Jordan once again cut off Gideon before he could get any further.

"No he is a genius and from what I have seen in him at the academy he will be extremely helpful to us. He is the best at geographical profiling as well as linguistics and puzzles. His mind is truly extraordinary and you'll never find someone else like him. All of the ABC agencies have approached him with offers as well as several universities and government labs throughout the country but he has chosen to work here. "

"Ok I still can't get over that he must be in his fifties to have three PHDs plus the Bas" Jordan said who was clearly not impressed with the new agent.

"Ya no offense Gideon but how old is he like seriously it takes what seven years roughly to get a doctorate little lone three of them that's close to twenty one years in school alone." Morgan added.

"That's why I am telling you about him before I tell you his age. As I was saying he has an IQ of 187, he has an eidetic memory which means everything he reads he remembers on the first time around plus he can also remember almost everything he hears. He can read 20,000 words per minute he is very much so the definition of a genius."

"What's his field experience like?" Hotch asked noticing how Gideon was more focused on the agent's mind. Hotch needed to know that this new agent will be helpful in the field.

"He doesn't have field experience yet. In fact in order for him to graduate they had to make a few exceptions with the physical aspects. He can't do hand to hand fighting or shot a gun for that matter."

"Are you kidding me?" Jordan couldn't believe this they were getting some walking computer that couldn't shoot.

"Jason I really don't think this is a good idea. How can he not have field experience?" Hotch said

"Ya that doesn't make sense you have to have at least three years of being in the FBI to even apply for this job. You're telling me in three years he hasn't ever been in the field." Morgan stated

"He has never been in the field, because he just graduated the academy yesterday."

No one knew what to say no one could believe that this was happening. They had all wanted a new field agent they were all excited and anxious to meet the new guy at the office and here they find out that it's a completely pure agent. No field experience, can't fight, can't shoot a gun can't be in the field basically. What they got was some know it all walking talking computer.

"Jason" Hotch started to speak when Gideon cut him off.

"No listen to me. Yes he's brand new out of the academy. Physically he won't be any help and with some teaching he can learn to shoot a gun it just takes him some time. However, mentally he can run circles around us and the UnSub's that's his strength. He has a higher IQ then all of us his mind thinks differently which is exactly what we need. We need someone who can understand and get in the mind of an UnSub and he can do that. He's different."

"Ok Jason stop avoiding the question how old is he?" Hotch asked fearing the worst.

"He's twenty-two."

There was an eerie silence that filled the room. No one knew what to say or what to even think. There was no way that a twenty-two year old would be that highly educated it wasn't possible. JJ couldn't believe it there was no way she was just twenty-two in college still playing soccer. How was it possible for someone that young to have that many degrees. Morgan and Jordan were both pissed off if this was a joke it wasn't funny. There's no way they were going to accept and tolerate someone that young and inexperienced. Hotch didn't know what to think for a moment he thought that Jason had lost his mind for thinking this would be a good idea. Thankfully JJ was the one that broke the tension filled silence.

"Are you serious?"

"I am very much serious."

"This has got to be some kind of joke. There's no way you or anyone would ever like some young naive kid in the BAU." Morgan said he was starting to get angry this whole idea was ridiculous.

"I'm not joking and he's not a kid. I assure you he's been an adult longer then you have."

"Longer then me I'm ten years older than him!"

"Then you won't have an issue helping him learn the ropes then."

"Teach him? I'll teach him a few good life lessons. First one will be not to play with the adults and go back to the sandbox." Jordan said

"Jordan that's enough Jason come out in the hall." Hotch said as he stood up.

He knew that this would be an issue the second he mentioned that this Reid person wasn't a physical individual. Personally Hotch didn't care he knew that to be a profiler you needed more brains then bronze but that wouldn't make Morgan and Jordan accept him any easier. It got worse when they all found out he was just a twenty- two year old. Hotch had to see where Jason's head was at. Jason followed Hotch out into the hallway he knew he would have to fight for Reid to be on the team but he wouldn't stop fighting. He believed in his heart that Reid belonged here on the team.

"Jason you can't be serious about bringing in a twenty- two year old to this job."

"Aaron I am confident that he will be alright. Yes he's not a field agent that will come with time though. He's beyond intelligent he will figure it out quicker than you think. His mind belongs here."

"Jason you obviously have an interest in this young man. Don't let that cloud your judgement. I'm not going to deny that what he has accomplished at his age isn't amazing and I am curious to meet him. I'm sure his mind is amazing but are you willing to risk his mind for this job? Think about it Jason he has an eidetic memory every case file he reads every crime scene he goes to. He will always remember every single ounce of it. He won't able to forget you know that. His mind isn't like ours or theirs he can't forget and at such a young age do you really think this is the best for him?"

"Yes he can't forget but he's not naïve either Aaron he knows that we see horrific things every day. I know he can handle it and even if that means we slowly introduce him to crime scenes. He can stay in the station and work the profile and what he's good at he doesn't need to be in the field you know that. There's more than just field work to be a profiler I believe in him and I trust him I need you to believe and trust me on this one. Or at least hold your judgements until you see what he can do just like you would with any other agent that comes onto this team."

"So you want me to just completely ignore his age?"

"Yes give him the same chance that you would anyone else."

"You do know that Morgan and Jordan won't be so accepting even if he proves himself. Not to mention the local police we deal with all the time. People will see him as a kid and that will make it hard for anyone to respect him."

"Which is why when being introduced he will be Doctor Reid."

Hotch let out a sigh. He had to agree with some points that Jason had said if he had been older he wouldn't have questioned his choice. He was only questioning it because the kid was still very much young. Yes he shouldn't be calling him a kid he was twenty- two and had a higher IQ then he did but still at that age and compared to the rest of them he was a kid. There were so many dangers out there with this job he would be an easy target for someone to grab him. On the other hand if he is as good as Jason says he is then how could he say no to such a brilliant mind that would be a great asset to the team.

"Alright I'll withhold my judgement."

"Thank you."

"JJ will be easier to accept this Morgan and Jordan won't be. You know how they are especially Jordan they won't take to him very well."

"I know but I'm hoping to help with that."

Gideon said as he walked back into the conference room with Hotch following behind him. He was interested in how he was going to win over Morgana and Jordan. Hotch sat back down and Gideon continued to stand in front of them.

"Before he gets here I want to make this very clear to all of you especially you two." Gideon said as he looked directly at Morgan and Jordan.

"Spencer has Aspenberg syndrome it's high autism meaning he has some quirks. He's socially awkward and doesn't understand what we would consider normal interaction. He doesn't shake hands or has physical contact with anyone. He also doesn't tend to make eye contact either and he speaks with his hands a lot. "

"Come on this is ridiculous Hotch man, are you actually letting this happen?" Jordan asked

"I trust Jason and his judgement on people. Besides if this Doctor Reid is as good as Jason says he is then he will be invaluable to this team."

"Invaluable? He's a walking encyclopedia that is socially retarded how is that invaluable?"

"I'm going to make this very clear I will not tolerate any disrespect or bullying of Doctor Reid there will be serious consequences."

Gideon made sure he said that looking at Jordaan and Morgan. He knew they would cause the most trouble for Reid. No one else had a chance to say anything as there was a knock on the conference room door. Everyone turned to see a tall skinny awkward looking man at the door. Everyone knew that this must be the new agent. Gideon definitely got it right when he said he was an awkward individual his eyes kept looking all around the room.

"Spencer did you find you way all right?" Gideon asked

"Um yes."

"Good come sit down and get introduced."

Reid walked over to an empty seat that was beside Morgan and Hotch he sat down and watched as Gideon introduced each person.

"This is SSA Hotchner, This is Agent Morgan, Agent Jordan and Agent Jareau."

"Call me JJ I'm the media liaison for the team I deal with the press and media outlets so you guys don't have to."

Reid just gave a nod to that he didn't know what to say to her or to any of them. He wasn't good with social talking it was different with Gideon for some reason being around him didn't bother him at all. Hotch looked over at Gideon he couldn't believe that Reid was this socially challenged to the point where he couldn't seem to have conversations with people. He gave Gideon a look that said 'seriously' Gideon just put his hand up slightly so only Hotch could see it to say just wait.

"We actually have a case that we will be going on. JJ goes through the cases and the ones that she feels need our immediate attention we brief them together then head out." Gideon said

With that Gideon sat down beside Hotch and JJ got up to hand out the files to everyone. She handed Reid her file and just worked off the board. Reid took the file and began to read it everyone, but Gideon couldn't help but look at Reid as he flipped the pages as he read at his blinding speed. Gideon just smiled to himself and then cleared his throat to get JJ back on task.

"Ok so we are heading to Jacksonville Florida where women varying from age ranges as young as thirty to as old as fifty are being tortured and killed. So far seven men have been killed and their bodies dumped in alleys."

"Where were they taken from?" Morgan asked

"Various locations one was from her car another from a parking garage one was on the street. There doesn't seem to be any pattern or a set victimology yet. What they do have is the same riddle being left at each dump site. That's the only connection each victim has with each other so far. What the locals have been able to dig up on each victim is that they all work in different fields. None have any children or in a relationship."

"How far apart are the killings?" Jordan asked

"Three days." JJ said

"Jacksonville this UnSub has what a million potential victims." Jordan said

"1,345,596 people live in Jacksonville the city has a total area of 874.3 square miles making Jacksonville the largest city in land area in the United States; of this, 86.66% is land and ; 13.34% is water."

Reid said but his eyes never left the brown file in front of him he wasn't comfortable around people especially people he doesn't know. Morgan and Jordan couldn't help the look of shock on their face. Hotch's face was expressionless like always; however, he was slightly impressed that Reid just said that without even having to think about it the words just came right out.

"Who do you know that?" Morgan asked

"I read" was Reid's simple reply, though you could hear the confusion in his voice. You could tell that Reid didn't really understand the question.

"What do you just sit at home reading National Geographic all day long." Jordan half joked.

"The National Geographic is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded. There are 12 monthly issues of the National Geographic per year, plus additional map supplements. It contains articles about geography, popular science, history, culture, current events, and photography. It wouldn't be very much help for populations of cities that's what the census journal is for it keeps an updated population of each city country wide every six months a new journal is issued."

"See what do you even say to that?" Jordan said

"How do you remember all of that?" Morgan asked

"I have an eidetic memory I remember everything I read and see right down to the small and the tiniest detail."

"So you can read something once and you remember it?" JJ asked she had to admit this Doctor Reid was peeking her interest.

"Correct."

"Ok let's continue." Hotch said trying to get everyone back on track. He could tell that Reid was getting uncomfortable with the way he was fidgeting. He was socially awkward so having strangers looking at him wasn't going to help.

"Right as I was saying each kill has been three days apart they now have seven victims. The locals didn't want to bring us in but they were finally forced to by the mayor. So we can expect them to not be happy about it." JJ said

"The riddle isn't in the files." Gideon stated

"Ya the lead detective wouldn't give me the riddle. He said they had already solved it and there was no point to it. Honestly I think he just doesn't want someone to tell him he's wrong. Apparently they cracked it but it made no sense."

"Alright wheels up in thirty. Reid I would like a word with you and Jason in my office please."

Reid looked over at Gideon as the others made their way out the door to the bullpen.

"What did I do?"

Gideon couldn't help but smile it was natural for Reid to think he did something wrong whenever someone wanted to talk to him in private.

"Nothing he just wants to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Because he's your superior and he wants to know you. I promise this will get easier."

Gideon and Reid walked beside each other down to Hotch's office just down the hall. Reid was nervous he didn't like being spoken to in someone's office that could very well end your career. Gideon said that he just wanted to talk and get to know him but people don't ever want to get to know him, with the exception of Gideon. Not only that Gideon kept telling him that it would get easier but he had been saying that for two years now, and so far it hasn't. They walked into Hotch's office to find him leaning against the front of his desk. Hotch immediately noticed how Reid's eyes never met his they focused more on the ground.

"Reid I just wanted to speak with you for a moment about what's going to happen. I don't like just throwing agents into the field. I prefer to ease them into it. We see a lot of horrific things that people do to each other. Not everyone can handle seeing it and there's nothing wrong with that. So with you for a little while you'll be spending most of your time in the police station working on connections the victims may have and the profile. I don't want you to be nervous or worried someone will always be with you for a little while until you feel comfortable alone. When you do go into the field because you don't have a weapon you just need to be with someone in case something happens. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir"

"Good why don't you head down with the others. I just need a word with Jason for a moment."

Reid gave a nod and then headed out the door to head down where the others were waiting and getting ready. Once he was outside the door Hotch turned to Gideon, but before Hotch could say anything Gideon beat him to it.

"He gets better I promise. He's improved in the two years I've known him just give him some time to get use to the different people on the team."

"He's socially awkward you weren't kidding about that. He has no confidence which I have to say is surprising considering everything he has accomplished. He doesn't make eye contact at all barely to you. That much of a low self-esteem isn't a side effect from Aspenberg syndrome. For him to be that low of a self-confidence he would have had to have been bullied."

"He graduated a public Las Vegas high school at the age of twelve. He's been bullied his whole life including University. He's never told me about any of the events, but as you can see for yourself he would have been tormented for him to get that self-conscious."

"You are aware of how Morgan and Jordan will handle him until he proves himself. They both will make jokes and say things that Reid won't understand especially Jordan he won't hold back."

"I know I'm hoping they will see that he isn't confident in himself and they won't tease him. However, I'm not going to risk that, that's why for now I'll be staying with him on cases. I've known him for two years and in that time he has gotten better and more confident, but he's still nowhere near confident in himself."

"Alright well I'll keep an eye on him and make sure that if Morgan and Jordan start to tease him to put an end to it."

"Thank you. He really will be invaluable to this team Aaron. Just give him time he'll prove that."

"I'm not going to deny that I'm intrigued. The way he gave the information in the briefing he didn't even think before he said it the words just came out. The statistics he knows could very well be helpful to the profile."

"Statistics are something he is very talented at he's been reading anything and everything since he was three years old. On those cases that we get where an UnSub leaves clues and we can't solve them until it's too late. Reid can solve them his mind works differently he sees a puzzle and he can solve it in his head. The way his mind works is unbelievable."

"Well we will see with this riddle that the UnSub leaves maybe he can make sense of it. Let's head out to the jet we can discuss the case more when we're in the air."

**Down In The Bullpen**

Morgan, Jordan and JJ were down in the bullpen waiting for the rest of the team to be ready so they could head over to the jet. Of course they weren't discussing the case they were discussing the newest member of their team.

"He won't last a week." Jordan said

"Maybe but he did make it through the academy and that isn't an easy thing to do" JJ said trying to defend Reid.

"JJ he passed because they had to make exceptions for him. He couldn't do the physical requirements for this job. Not to mention how weird he is." Morgan said

"He's a little know it all he probably thinks he better then all of us because he's so smart. The kid's a freak I already can't stand him and I sure as hell ain't teaching him anything." Jordan said

"For someone who thinks he's better than us he sure doesn't have much confidence then. I think he could be helpful and he's not a freak he's just gifted." JJ said. She didn't like Morgan and Jordan talking badly about Reid. He was still a young guy and you could tell he wasn't comfortable around people she didn't want him to feel even less comfortable on the team.

"He doesn't have to have confidence to think he's better than all of us, because he's so smart. The kid is weird and a freak and I can't believe that Hotch would even entertain the idea of him being on this team. He's just going to be a pain and we all have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't get killed." Jordan said

"Come on JJ you can't tell me that the local police that we deal with all the time will respect and accept him as an agent. Half those detectives have children older than him." Morgan said

JJ was going to comment on that but they all heard Hotch's office door open and saw Reid coming down to them. His eyes seemed to be scanning the room looking at his surroundings memorizing them and everyone in the room. He walked over to them and stood off to the side not really near them but not far enough away for him not to be able to hear them. JJ could tell that he was uncomfortable and feeling out of place. She felt like that to when she first joined them. It wasn't easy for her being a woman and not a field agent. Her job was to be a liaison and deal with the press not go chasing after UnSubs and working the profile. Reid was just like she was when she started feeling awkward and out of place. JJ was going to do her best to try and help him become more comfortable especially with how Morgan and Jordan were talking about him.

"So Spence where are you from?"

"Space" Jordan joked and Morgan smiled. JJ sent them both a dirty look she didn't find this at all funny.

"Las Vegas."

Reid answered not even bothering to make a comment to Jordan or Morgan for that space comment. It wasn't anything he hadn't heard before after all.

"Really wow I'm from this small little down in Pittsburg I couldn't imagine how amazing it would be to grow up in Vegas. Did you like living there?"

"It's loud too loud I prefer the quiet, but the lights are nice to look at."

"I bet it's beautiful at night. Did you ever go to a casino?"

"I have not anymore. And it is beautiful at night with all of the fluorescent lights off of the strip."

"Why don't you go to the casinos anymore or is that just because you're here now."

"Partly the other part is that I am banned from all casinos in Las Vegas."

"You're banned how did you get banned?" Morgan couldn't help but asking the kid was only twenty-two he was just starting to be allowed to gamble.

"I got banned from the casinos at fourteen when they discovered I was counting cards."

"You can count cards?" Morgan asked he was surprised but at the same time he really didn't know why that would surprise him.

"It's a basic mathematical equation all you need to do is plug in the variables and keep reevaluating every time a card is turned. Combine that with basic odds of possible hands available if done correctly you can win 95.67% of the time."

"You really expect us to believe that at fourteen you were banned from the casinos how the hell did you even get in to bet." Jordan said

"I use to play poker in underground and illegal casinos word got out that I was card counting and very good at it. From there I was banned from the underground casinos as well as all the other legitimate casinos. Though I can still play in Atlanta city just have no reason to go."

"If you're that good at poker why aren't you counting card and doing tournaments and getting rich." Jordan said

"Why would I do that?"

"Why would you want to work when you can just make money all day sitting playing cards that's why idiot." Jordan said he was really getting annoyed with this kid.

"Then my life would have no meaning. Riches only take a person so far if your life is empty then why continue to live just for riches."

"What are you a fortune cookie now?" Jordan joked

JJ was getting really annoyed with how Jordan was acting and treating Reid. It was like he completely forgot that he was the new guy just a month ago and here he was treating Reid this way. So what if he was different and brilliant Gideon obviously knew that Reid would be an asset to the team otherwise he wouldn't have brought him into it. They just needed to accept that Reid was here and try to make the best of it. Before anyone could even reply to what Jordan had to say Hotch's door opened once again and Hotch and Gideon walked out. It was time to head out to the jet and get ready for this case. All JJ could do was hope that Morgan and Jordan grew up and focused on this case and not on Reid. Hotch and Gideon walked over to them.

"You all ready?" Hotch asked

They all nodded their heads and they all headed down the elevator and to the SUV's.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Okay for the record I am not very good at writing case material. I hate writing it, but this story needs to have it so I am going out of my comfort zone so bear with me. Also remember that this is before the show started so the characters might seem off but that's just because they are before the show started and before they have grown._

Chapter 2

The flight to Jacksonville was awkward to say the least. Reid didn't know what to do or to say. He had suggestions in his mind, but he didn't know if he was allowed to say them. He kept getting looks from Jordan and Morgan the whole time. He knew they didn't want him there and Reid would be lying if he didn't admit that he was intimidated by them. They had seven victims so far and it didn't look like the UnSub was slowing down any time soon. Reid had been going over the file and the autopsy report Reid's mind was going a mile a minute. He was excited to see what the riddle was that the UnSub left at the crime scene. The locals said that the riddle was cracked, but it didn't make any sense which is why they didn't include it in the files. JJ had also mentioned that the local PD didn't want their involvement which would make it difficult to get their cooperation in the case. Reid was nervous about meeting the local PD he didn't know what they would think of him. If there was one thing he did learn in the academy it was that the older you are the harder it was to accept someone younger than you in the field. Once the plane landed they all piled into the two SUV's and took off for the police station.

Gideon could tell that Reid was nervous. He was sitting in the back starring out the window his fingers were tapping against the seat; one of his tells that Gideon had picked up over the time he's known him. Gideon understood why Reid was so nervous he knew that the locals wouldn't take well to him being in charge. Half of them had children the same age or older than him. Gideon was going to keep an eye on him to make sure he wasn't being bullied by anyone especially on his team. They pulled up to the police station and walked through the doors. A detective came right over to them and introduced himself.

"I'm Detective Watts you must be the BAU."

"Yes I'm SSA Hotchner, this is SSA Gideon, Agent Morgan, Agent Jordan, Agent Jareau and Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Dr. Spencer Reid? You mean for what last Halloween? You can't be serious he's what eighteen."

"No he's not and he is a Federal Agent. Now we need a place to work." Hotch said in a serious take no shit tone. They had been there for two whole minutes and already they were giving Reid trouble. The detective gave a displeased look at Reid before heading over to a small room where they had pictures up of the victims on a wall. Also on the wall was the riddle. Reid noticed that there was no local map so he decided to be brave and speak up.

"Um do you have a local map by any chance?"

"Probably"

"Are any of the crime scenes still being held?" Jordan asked

"The most recent dump site is still locked down."

"Jordan and Morgan why don't you both go look at it. JJ get a press conference ready so we can give the profile to them when we are ready. Reid why don't you work on the geographical profile while Jason and I work on the profile. Also Detective Watts you can bring us that map."

"Crime scene is a few blocks away I'll get one of my guys to take you. I'll also go grab that map for you."

The detective left clearly not happy with having to do something for Reid. Jordan couldn't help but smile at what just happened with the detective and Reid. He knew the kid wouldn't last long especially if he had anything to do with it.

"Well at least the local police are accepting of you." Jordan said to Reid with a huge smile on his face.

"Get to the crime scene now." Hotch said

Jordan and Morgan both left before Hotch had a chance to lecture them. Jordan was pretty proud of himself he had to admit he couldn't wait for the day that Reid left. The detective came back into the room with a local map and handed it to Hotch instead of Reid. Hotch grabbed the map and handed it to Reid who was getting more closed in on himself as the minutes ticked away. Reid took the map and tacked it up to the board as he started to tack off the abduction and dump sites. The detective kept his eyes on Reid making no move to leave them alone. JJ had already left to work on setting up a press conference. Hotch knew that they had to get Reid comfortable and having this detective who clearly made it known that he doesn't like him; watching his every move isn't going to help.

"Detective can you get the past victims' family to come down so we can interview them."

"We already did that."

"I know, but we like to speak with them ourselves ."

"Ya fine."

Detective Watts left to make the arrangements for the victims' family to come down to the station. Reid was relieved when the detective left so he could focus on what he was doing. Gideon and Hotch started to go over the profile for what information they had.

Jordan and Morgan were in the SUV on their way to the most recent dump site. Of course the conversation was about their new agent.

"I told you the local police won't respect him. Did you see that detective he wouldn't respect that freak if his life depended on it."

"He didn't take well to it that's for certain. Though, the kid doesn't really help himself either he just takes it. He should have said something instead of Hotch."

"He's not even helpful he didn't say a single word on the jet. How are we supposed to trust that he has our backs and is a valuable member to this team? Come on he'll be gone by the end of the week just watch."

"Ya I definitely wouldn't trust him with my life. I just hope he's as good as Gideon seems to think he is, but I have my doubts."

A few hours later Morgan and Jordan returned back to the police station to find Reid alone in the room staring at the board. Morgan was the first to talk.

"Where's everyone else?"

"Oh they um… are interviewing the families."

Morgan went to sit down in a chair and Jordan decided to have some fun. He went over to Reid and placed his arm around Reid's shoulders making Reid instantly flinch at the contact.

"What's wrong afraid of being touched?" Jordan laughed as he let go and went to sit down.

"I don't… I don't like being touched." Reid said in a soft whisper before he went back to stare at the board. He was focusing on the riddle in front of him.

"So I guess that means you've never had sex then eh? Or do you just prefer the company of your own hand?" Jordan was laughing this whole situation for him was just too funny. Morgan was watching Reid the whole time he could tell how uncomfortable he was since they walked into the room. He knew Jordan was right that Reid wouldn't last, but he also was starting to think there was something more to make Reid this way. This is why he was starting to feel a little bad about what Jordan had just said to him.

"Um did you find anything at the um dump site?"

"I'll tell you when you're older."

"Jordan" Morgan warned. "The dump site didn't give us much it was pretty typical. He threw her out with the rest of the trash. What's with the color on the map?" Morgan asked he was trying to help Reid feel slightly more comfortable around them.

"That's the area of the UnSub's comfort zone. The UnSub lives in that area it's about a thousand males though."

"Well it's a start at least." Morgan said he had to admit he was glad they had someone who could do a geographical profile. They all sucked at it so half the time they didn't even bother with it. With Reid here he could do them and he seemed to be pretty good at it. He watched Reid just standing there looking at the board and he couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind as he just stood there and starred.

An hour later Hotch and Gideon returned from interviewing the last family. Hotch was the first to speak.

"Alright what do we got?"

"The dump site didn't give us anything. It was a side alley full of trash he could have easily dumped her there without anyone noticing." Jordan said

"The victims' family didn't really have anything either. None of them have worked in the same spot, joined a club, went to the same church they didn't even buy their clothes in the same place." Gideon informed them.

Detective Watts came in to see how much progress they had gotten. Gideon was looking at Reid as he was still starring at the board with all the evidence. Gideon knew that Reid had something in his head floating around.

"What do you think Spencer?"

"It's the um… the riddle."

"Ya I decoded that myself doesn't make any sense though, you shouldn't be wasting your time on it."

"What about the riddle Reid?" Hotch asked completely ignoring the detective.

"Um it's… it's actually um wrong."

"Wrong how?" Gideon asked

"The um decoding it's not right."

It was obvious to everyone that Reid was beyond uncomfortable in that moment. It was clear that Reid felt like he shouldn't be speaking about it. Morgan was really starting to wonder what was going on with Reid. He was afraid to correct someone in their line of work it happens all the time. They even correct each other that was how they get their UnSubs. Reid had no confidences what so ever.

"What do you mean wrong? I did it myself its perfect."

"It's not actually a riddle it's a code. More specifically an old Greek code."

"Reid can you explain this to us?" Morgan asked

"Um ya the Greek designed a code that they could use to communicate with their soldiers. It was originally created back in 1754. The Greeks needed a way to communicate with their army, but they couldn't risk their enemies knowing about their plans if the messenger was captured. So they created the code that was taught to the armies so they could still keep in contact without any threats. It appears as a riddle, but each word is replaced by another word. There is a key so you could crack the code; however that was only kept with the leader of the armies which was the king. Everyone else was expected to do it from memory."

"Can you crack the code?" Hotch asked

"I could, I would have to take a trip to a library. The problem is there wasn't just one key for it. Each area of Greece had different keys. They did it on purpose in case a civil war broke out. There are nine different keys I would need to see which one the UnSub used to crack it."

"Ya how many weeks is that gonna take ya?" Detective Watts asked

"Um it probably would only take a couple of hours. I just need to look in the Greek history section to find the keys."

"Ok, but just that information alone helps. If this guy knows about Greek history then he is either Greek or he studied history right?" Morgan asked

"Greek history isn't something anyone in school studies. With his knowledge of it he would of had to go to college or university strictly for that." Gideon said

"So call our tech and see if he can look up who took a class of Greek history and cross-check it with the comfort zone." Jordan said

"Spencer did you notice anything else?" Gideon asked he knew Reid would have more ideas in his head then just that.

"Just the torture it's too perfect."

"Ya well a lot of the times it is." Jordan commented.

"What do you mean by too perfect?" Hotch asked

"The first victim Sarah Parker. There's no hesitation marks, the cuts are equal lengths and depth, the bruising is in all the right places so she wouldn't bleed internally. All seven victims are all injured in the exact same way. The cuts are in the exact same spot as the previous victim. There's no growth, no experimentation at all. He's already perfected his work. What if Sarah Parker wasn't his first victim? What if he just started to place the code at the dump sites, because no one was recognizing his work?"

"Kids got a point. I mean look at the pictures this UnSub is controlled and organized. He might have been doing this longer than we thought. He could have used other women to try out his means of torture before he moved on to the real thing. Other women could have been killed, but like the kid said no one recognized it as his work or connected them. So he leaves this riddle or code at each dump site so the local police had to acknowledge him now." Morgan said. As this conversation went on he was starting to see why Reid might be a good addiction to the team. The kid obviously brought something to the table his IQ.

"We should check local police reports going back six months to see if anything is close. He hasn't made any mistakes recently but he may have back then." Hotch said

"Why don't I take Reid to the library? The sooner this code is cracked the sooner we might just find this guy." Morgan suggested.

"Morgan I don't know if that's a good idea." Gideon said

"You and Hotch need to present the profile. JJ and Jordan can go through old reports. Unless you have an issue with me going with you kid?"

"I see I'm not the only one that sees him as a kid." Detective Watts mumbled just loud enough that they all heard him.

"I don't mean it in a bad way at all. He's not a kid it just a nick name. Kids don't have more education than I do. So Reid is it cool if we go together?"

"Um sure. Oh and just one more thing the previous kills to Sarah Parker should be in his comfort zone."

"Why would he be killing in a different place? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to be killing in the same area the whole time?" Detective Watts asked

"People who have never killed before do it close to home before they perfect their craft. So they initially start closer to home so they don't have to travel as far. However as their confidence grows they feel the need to expand and perfect their work. Resulting in them killing away from their home, their comfort zone." Reid explained.

"Ok Morgan and Reid head to the library get what you need to crack this code. JJ and Jordan can go over the past reports and try to narrow it down. Detective gather your men so we can give the profile." Hotch said.

"Alright let's head out kid."

Morgan said as he made his way out the door followed by Reid. Though, the look of uncertainty that Reid sent to Gideon didn't go unnoticed by any of them including Morgan. With a simple encouraging nod from Gideon Reid followed behind Morgan out of the police station and into a SUV. Once Morgan was inside he typed in library in the GPS search once he found the closest one he headed in that direction. Morgan looked over at Reid and saw that he was staring out the window with his hands in his lap fidgeting. It was obvious that he wasn't used to social interactions at all. Even something as simple as sitting in a car he was unbearably nervous. Morgan was surprised by what information that Reid had contributed during the team collaboration. Morgan was starting to see why Gideon liked him so much and even though he couldn't be a physical agent his mind was definitely enough to be on the team. Morgan knew he would have to put in an effort to get to know Reid and not judge him. Morgan was sure there were things he could learn from Reid and there were definitely things that Morgan could teach Reid. If Morgan just had some patients he truly did believe that Reid and him could be friends.

"So do you think you'll be able to find all the keys at the library?"

"Yes any book on Greek history should have all of them within it."

"Well that's good it at least makes it easy."

Reid didn't say anything to that he really didn't know what to say in this situation. He was always around Gideon and when he wasn't he was at home by himself. Morgan couldn't figure out what to say he knew that Reid was uncomfortable the problem was Morgan really couldn't figure out why Reid had such a low self- esteem. The kid had three doctorates and an IQ that could out- smart the best of them; and yet he couldn't make eye contact with people. He should have all the confidences in the world, but he didn't and Morgan couldn't understand why.

"Hey can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"Touche kid. I'm going to ask you anyways though. Have you had people like detective Watts give you a hard time before?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious that's all."

"There are a lot more Detective Watts in my life and past then there are of Gideon."

"Ya, but you must have other friends besides Gideon."

"No"

"Not even from the academy?"

"The one friend I had in the academy left that very first day."

"What about friends from back home?"

"Don't have any."

"So Gideon is your only friend?"

"Yes. Why is that weird?"

"No that's sad kid."

"It's best to have one true friend than one hundred fake friends."

"True, but why don't you have other friends?"

"People don't like me."

Reid said in a soft whisper. He honestly didn't know why people hated him so much. All he could assume was that it was from his IQ, but that didn't mean he understood why that was such an issue. Sure people didn't like know it all's but Reid didn't think that was who he was. Sure he knew a lot, but there was also a lot that he didn't know. What Reid said struck a chord with Morgan it was sad to hear that coming from a twenty-two year olds mouth. That in all of his life he only even had one other friend besides Gideon a friend that he apparently doesn't even talk to anymore. Morgan knew now for sure that he would need to look out for Reid and try his best to be his friend. The kid clearly needed more people in his corner.

"Reid why do you think people don't like you?"

"Because they tell me that they don't."

"Do they ever give reasons?"

"Usually has something to do with my intelligence."

"Have you been bullied for it?"

"My whole life as with thousands of others."

"Just because thousands of kids get bullied doesn't make it right. Especially, because you have no control over your intelligences. That's something you're born with. That would be like me trying not to be brown I am who I am I can't change it just like you can't change that you're gifted."

"People don't see it that way."

"Look if anyone is giving you a hard time you just let me know I'll handle it."

"Why?"

"Because we are a team and we look out for each other. What you did back there proves to me that you belong on this team. It doesn't matter if you're a field agent or not you belong here with that mind of yours."

"Thanks"

They pulled up to the library and Morgan parked the car before he turned to Reid.

"Look I know this is a lot for you to take in. I want you to know though that it will get easier, but in order for that to happen you gotta stand up for yourself. It's the only way that the locals will respect you."

"I'm not good at that part."

"You need to figure that out. How long do you think you'll be in there?"

"Probably five minutes."

"Alright I'll wait here while you run in and get what ya need."

Reid gave a nod and got out of the SUV and headed in to the library. Morgan knew he probably should have gone in with him, but Reid hadn't had the chance to be alone really. Morgan figured this way he could be alone for a few minutes while he looked for the right book. Sure enough six minutes later Reid came out of the library holding a single book. He got back into the car before he spoke.

"Got it. Hopefully there is something in the code."

"Let's head back see what the others have gotten."

Reid gave a nod as he began to read the book while they drove back to the station.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was four days later that the team found themselves on the jet heading back home. The last four days had been tiring. With Reid being able to cipher the code that the UnSub left they were able to narrow down their suspects to just five men. From there they had to work on finding them and bringing them in for questioning. Finally they had their UnSub Jacobs Evans. A forty year old white male who had been wronged by women his whole life according to him; he started killing when his third wife left him for another man. They finally had enough evidence to arrest him for the murders and once all the paperwork was finished they headed out to go home. Now sitting here on the plane they all went into their usually routines to un-wined. Morgan was listening to music, JJ was going over case files for their next case, Hotch was talking to Haley on the phone, Jordan was texting some girl he was going to hook up with tonight, Reid sat alone looking out the window and Jason was sitting there watching Reid. The case hadn't been hard on Reid he held his own very well just like he expected he would. He cracked the code; which ultimately lead them to the UnSub, he provided information and insight that the others hadn't thought of. All in all Reid had been very valuable to the team just like Gideon knew he would be.

The problem was the local police didn't take too well to him. The lead detective was constantly making fun of him and putting him down. The uniforms followed the detective's lead and starting to bully Reid as well. Some went as far as pushing him around when they weren't there. They called him names and mocked him, they made it seem like he was twelve and not twenty-one. Reid wasn't the type of person to stand up for himself he had learned growing up the hard way of what would happen if he did. The bullying always got worse when he stood up for himself and now, because of that he was afraid to do so. Gideon was worried how this would affect Reid's emotional and mental stability. Gideon knew how much he was bullied growing up and even in the academy where there was around grown ass adults. The other problem was Jordan he was also contributing to the bullying. Gideon knew that Morgan and Jordan would be the problem on the team they were very different and believed different things that make an agent. Hotch and Gideon knew that it took more brains then bronzes to make an agent. However Morgan and Jordan believed differently and they were not shy to say how they felt. Gideon was a little surprised to see Morgan not making any comments he wasn't defending Reid but he wasn't joining in which Gideon took as a good thing.

Gideon decided he would move over and sit across from Reid so he could talk to him.

"Hey Spencer how you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

"What did you think of your first case?"

"It got easier as the days went on."

"Each case will get easier and easier to adjust to. You did very well if it wasn't for you we would have never cipher that code. Thanks to you we were able to get the UnSub before he took another woman."

"I'm glad I could help."

"You don't look too happy."

Gideon made sure he whispered he didn't want anyone else on the plane to overhear their conversation. Gideon could tell that something was bothering Reid and Gideon had a good idea what it was. He didn't want Jordan or Morgan to overhear the conversation more specifically Jordan. Gideon didn't want anyone to use this against Reid.

"I'm happy we caught him."

"But"

Reid let out a deep breath he knew Gideon would be talking to him he just didn't think it would be this soon. Sitting on the opposite side of him on the plane was Hotch he was just getting off the phone to his wife, behind him was Jordan. He didn't want them to hear what they were talking about he didn't want them to know that the behavior of the local police had affected him.

"I knew the local police wouldn't like me very much I expected them to not be so kind. I guess I just didn't expect it to go on for that long. We were there for five days I figured they would have gotten tired of it and stopped long ago. I'm used to being bullied, but it seems more wrong for it to come from police officers."

"Unfortunately bullying happens in any work environment. I do agree though, that it appears to be more wrong coming from police officers. Their job is to protect people from various threats in the world including bullies. However, that doesn't mean that police officers are above bullying others especially those that are different and they don't understand."

"I'm always the one that no one understands."

"That's not a bad thing. Spencer you are completely unique and that in itself is a rarity. Yes there are a lot of people out there that don't understand you or even try to understand you. It's their loss though. Your mind is amazing and there hasn't been a mind like yours since Steven Hawkins. Don't let people take that away from you, especially those with an inferior IQ. You are special and who you are is what claimed my interest in you. I have never in my life ever met anyone like you, you truly are one of a kind don't be afraid to show that uniqueness. This isn't the first time you've had to deal with bullies and unfortunately it won't be the last, but it's nothing you can't handle. I'm here for you anytime you want to talk I'm always there."

"Thanks"

With that the conversation was over. Reid turned to look out the window again and Gideon sat back in his seat and began to read a book. Hotch had heard the conversation and made a mental note to keep an eye out for Reid in the next coming weeks. He wanted to get to know him after this case Reid had definitely proved himself to be very valuable to the team. If given the choice he would pick Reid over Morgan and Jordan. Hotch could tell that there was more to Reid's background than it appeared to be. Gideon was a mentor to Reid, but it also seemed like Reid wasn't used to having a male figure in his life. Hotch's mind couldn't help but wonder about Reid's parents. Surely with someone like Reid he would have had loving parents. Even as a prodigy Reid would have needed love and support to get where he is. There were lots of child prodigies that never went anywhere, because they didn't have people around them that cared for them. It was sad, but it was a fact that a lot of children failed to reach their full potential, because of the environment they grew up in. Hotch was going to have to make an effort in getting to know Reid and earning Reid's trust.

Jordan acted like he wasn't listening to the conversation behind him, but he heard every word. Jordan didn't care that the local police were bullying Reid he was glad that they were. He hated people like Reid, people who thought they knew everything and acted like they were the smartest person in the world. Jordan wanted nothing more than for Reid to quit and get the hell out of his life. He was a know it all and Jordan hated those type of people. It was taking everything in him not to beat the twig up. If Reid wasn't going to quit than Jordan was going to make sure he did. Jordan looked down at his phone and picked it up. He sent a text message to a few of his friends to see what they could come up with.

Three hours later the plane landed and everyone gathered their things and headed out. They piled into the SUVs and headed to the BAU to finish their paperwork before they could go home. Jordan had finished his work and was sitting at his desk. He was waiting for Reid to finish so he could follow him home. Jordan needed to know how he got home and where he lived so he could come up with a plan to get Reid to quit. Him and his friends had thrown out a few ideas, but so far they didn't have anything solid. Finally Reid got his things together and headed out for home. Jordan said his goodbyes to Morgan and followed after Reid. Reid started walking down the street and headed for the subway. Jordan cursed as he realized that Reid doesn't drive. So he parked his car and headed out after Reid. He got on the same subway and made sure he stayed away from Reid so he wouldn't recognize him. After ten stops Reid got out and Jordan followed behind him. He couldn't believe how easy it was to follow Reid. He was so oblivious to his surroundings it was pathetic. Finally after five blocks Reid came to this small little run down house. He went inside and Jordan made sure he got the address of his place. It was almost too easy Reid lived in a house alone that wasn't in the best area. It would be easy for people to believe that he got attacked in this area. Jordan turned away and headed back to the subway so he could get his car. He was texting his friends and telling them that he had an idea. Now it was only a matter of time before he made his move.

It was five days later and they still didn't have a case. Jordan was just hoping it wouldn't come up today. Winter had been in full blow so it was minus twenty-five during the day and reaching minus thirty overnight. Tonight would be perfect for his plan all he needed was to not get a case again for one more day. In a perfect world they would get a case tomorrow and they would have to go without Reid. Jordan wasn't going to just wait for Reid to quit he was going to make him. Tonight himself and his five closest friends were going to teach Reid what happens when you act like a know it all. Sure enough when it was time to go they didn't receive a case. Jordan said his goodbyes and headed out like he did every other day. Reid was still working at his desk, but Jordan knew that he would do that most nights which annoyed Jordan even more. Once he was in his car he called his friends to let them know that it was going down tonight and that he would meet them at the address he specified. Once that was done he took off for Reid's shitty little house and waited for the others to pull up. He made sure his one friend had brought his work van so they all could fit in one vehicle.

Reid got there first before his buddies came. Jordan just waited and watched as Reid went inside completely unaware that Jordan was even parked by his house. It amazed Jordan how completely unaware of his surroundings that Reid was. He was worse than a rookie cop little lone someone that went through FBI training. It was no wonder that the Director had to make exceptions for him just so he could graduate, he was a disgrace to what the Bureau stood for. For that reason alone Jordan didn't feel even the slightest ounce of guilt for what he was about to do. Finally he saw his friend's van pull up, it was go time. Jordan got out of his car and walked over to the work van and saw that his three other friends were all piled into the van. They got out and everyone made sure to put on their gloves and ski masks as they walked up to the door. Jordan looked back at his friends to make sure they were ready before he kicked the door in almost breaking it off its hinges. The four of them stormed through the small little house to find Reid in his bedroom getting ready to change out of his work clothes. Jordan pulled his fist back before smashing it into Reid's jaw knocking him to the ground. Then they were on him. All four of them were kicking Reid all over his face and torso. All Reid could do was move his arms so they covered his face and head for some small hope of protecting his brain. Pain exploded all throughout his body as they assaulted him right in his very own home. Finally Jordan reached down and handcuffed Reid's hands behind his back before they started to drag him out to the van. It was just after six o'clock at night and the temperature was already reaching minus ten outside. Reid fought as hard as he could but being injured with his hands behind his back he didn't stand a chance against the four men.

They threw him into the back of the van before Jordan's one friend got in the driver's seat and took off for their destination. They had already planned this out perfectly Jordan was confident that no evidence would ever be found even if Reid managed to call the police. Jordan knew that if was a pretty big word Reid would be lucky if he got out of this by tomorrow. The only chance in hell he had was if someone found him but Jordan knew that wouldn't be the case. After all Reid lived in a bad neighborhood it wasn't that surprisingly if someone attacked him in his home. Reid laid in the back of the van with the three men staring at him. He didn't know what was going on but he did know it wasn't anything good. That was until he heard a familiar voice.

"Well boys what should we do with this pathetic piece of shit?"

Reid knew that voice after all how could he forget. It was Jordan a person that was supposed to trust with his life was the one that seemed to be in control of this whole thing. Reid didn't know if he should say something or not so he opted to keep his mouth shut he didn't want the situation to get any worse.

"I say we take his clothes." One of the men said

"I'd like to see what he's got underneath all them ugly ass clothes. Maybe I'll take my pay out of him I bet he's fun." Another man in the back of the van said

Jordan went and sat down on one of the benches in the back of the van. He was going to watch his two friends teach Reid a lesson.

"Do what you'd like. This will be a good lesson for him to learn about what happens when you play in the wrong sandbox."

That's when Reid's nightmare started. The two men came at him one cut off his clothes except for his boxers. The other pulled them off from him part of Reid was happy that they didn't cut his boxers at least he would have something to wear considering his pants and shirt was shredded. He thought his body was already in pain he had no idea what pain really was until that moment. He couldn't stop the tears from coming down his face as the two men raped him and his teammate sat there just watching it happen. Once both men were finished with him they just left him there on the floor of the van bleeding and shaking. When the van finally came to a stop Reid thought that this was it, it was finally over he could just go home but he was wrong. Jordan who was still wearing the ski mask grabbed him by the hair and dragged him out of the van and out into the cold night. Reid tried to look around to see where he was but he didn't recognize anything. It was cold cement everywhere and what looked like old rundown factories. Jordan dragged him by the hair all the way across the parking lot into a factory. The cold cement scrapped against his back and butt as he was being dragged. Once in the factory the assault started again. All four of them punched and kicked him until he was barely conscious. Jordan un-cuffed Reid and dragged him over to a pole that was sticking out of the ground. He put Reid's hands behind his back so they were around the pole before using some rope and tying his wrists together. Jordan walked in front of Reid before bending down and grabbing a chunk of hair to pull his head up.

"Next time it'll be worse. If I were you I would quit being a little know it all and get the hell out of the FBI. You are nothing but a pathetic disgrace. Let's see how smart you are now. I'd hurry if I were you it gets pretty cold out at night."

Jordan laughed as he threw Reid's boxers back at his face. With that they all walked out and left a bleeding and freezing Reid on the concrete floor out in the middle of nowhere.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Reid didn't know how long he was sitting there in that factory for. He remembered trying to get his hands free from the rope, but he must have passed out from the pain. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious for it was night when they took him and it was even darker now so at least it couldn't have been that long. His whole body was shivering from the strength of the winter night. Reid knew that if he didn't get out of the cold soon he would be seriously sick and in danger of dying. Trying to put the pain out of his mind he forced his hands to work to get the rope off from them. With the cold in the air the rope had gotten harder and stiff. Reid didn't know how long it took him, but if he had to guess it was at least an hour before he was finally able to get his hands free. The first thing he did once he got his body up was put on the boxers that they thankfully left for him.

The first thing Reid knew he had to do was to figure out if he recognized anything. Slowly he dragged himself to the first door he saw. Once he was outside the cold air hit him full force. Not only was it incredibly windy it was also heavily snowing making it hard for him to see. Reid did the only thing he could do, he pushed forward. He couldn't just go back inside the rundown factory; he would only get sicker and sicker as time went on. He highly doubted anyone would be in this area anytime soon he had no choice. He had to push through the storm to try and get either home or until he found someone. Walking through the storm was incredibly difficult with the injuries that were covering his entire body. The wind was so powerful he was positive it was going to blow him over a few times. He forced his body to keep pushing through, he knew that if he stopped the odds of him getting back up and continuing were unbelievably low.

What worried Reid was the fact that the pain in his body was going away. His whole body was going numb. Reid knew that wasn't a good thing. He knew he had to figure out where he was and how far away from his home was before he reached the danger level. Reid stopped for a moment just to look around. He finally recognized a sign that he always sees on his way home. Reid felt relieved that at least he knew where he was and that he was heading in the right direction. He also knew that in this weather he was at least another hour away from home by walking in this blizzard. Feeling at least better knowing that he knew where he was, Reid forced his body to continue on and push through the snow. The whole world around him didn't seem to exist as Reid just focused on the way home. Each time he would tell himself to look for one symbol whether it would be a sign or a building, anything that would stand out for each quarter marker. That was the only way he could make the long trip home seem like less time. If he could just cut it down to four sections then he could count down each time he made it through one of the sections.

Finally he was in his own neighborhood. Reid was hoping that he would be able to flag down a cab, but with this weather no one was out driving in it. He didn't have a choice but to walk the whole way home. Now that he could actually see his house he thought he was going to cry. He got to his house and realized that the front door was at least still on. He went in and closed and locked the door behind him. Reid didn't even look to see what time it was he went straight into the washroom. What he saw in the mirror staring back at him scared the hell out of him. He was covered in bruising, his whole torso was black and purple, he could tell that he had a few broken ribs. His face was full of cuts and bruising; there was no way Reid would be able to hide what happened to him. At least with the fight he knew he would be able to hide the fact that he was raped. The problem was he didn't know if he could even go into work and see Jordan and not break down and cry. Reid had only been on one case, but he knew he loved this job. He couldn't help but feel like he was born to do this job, but now he didn't think he could go in there. How was he supposed to do a job, where you had to trust the members of the team with your life after what happened. There was no way Reid would be able to trust Jordan at all. Reid knew that was what Jordan wanted. He wanted him to quit and now it looked like he was going to get what he asked for.

Reid couldn't look at himself any longer so he turned around and turned the water on in the shower. He wanted to turn it all the way on hot, but he knew he couldn't without burning his skin. His skin was freezing right now so he would have to start it out as warm and go from there until, his skin adjusted to the heat levels. Once the water was just warm he took off his boxers and got in. He made quick work of scrubbing his skin trying to get the hands off from him. His mind was his greatest enemy at that point all it kept doing was repeating the same sentence over and over again in his head. "You're not a virgin no more now are you freak." It was followed by the laughs of the men in the van. He couldn't believe this happened to him. He thought the bullying would be over he thought he would fit in at the BAU. They were profilers they were taught to be open minded and accepting people was a job requirement. Yet here he was beaten, freezing, and raped all orchestrated by a man on his team. A man he was supposed to trust with his life. After a few minutes Reid turned the hot water up more; he repeated the process until his body was able to handle almost straight hot water. He was exhausted he didn't care he just sat down in the tub with the water streaming down on him. He curled up and leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. His whole body hurt and he knew when he got up tomorrow he would be sick with a horrible cold if not pneumonia. He couldn't bring himself to care that sleeping in that position would just do more damage to his already damaged body. He was so tired and so cold he didn't want to move. It wasn't until four hours later when he felt cold water hit him that he woke up. The hot water had run out so he slowly uncurled and reached up to turn the water off. Once the water was off he slowly got up onto his feet as pain erupted all throughout his body. Slowly he dried off and went into his room where he got dressed in sweatpants, a long sleeved shirt and a heavy sweater before climbing into bed and sleeping.

The next day Jordan walked into the bullpen with the biggest smile on his face. He knew that last night would be the last time he would ever see Reid. Even if he did manage to show up back to work after what happened to him, there was no way he would last long. Jordan knew that Reid wouldn't be able to handle this job he was too weak and pathetic to handle dealing with the UnSubs that they deal with each and every day. Just because he was able to crack some code that an UnSub left doesn't mean he could handle seeing what they see. Hotch wouldn't even let him in the field, because he even knew that Reid couldn't hack it with them. Jordan made his way over to his desk that was right across from him best friend's desk, Morgan. He sat down and Morgan couldn't help but notice the smile on Jordan's face.

"Why are you so happy?"

"Oh I just know it's going to be a good day. I can feel it today is going to be the first day that that little know it all won't be here."

"Why do you say that?"

"I can feel it that little freak is finally done with this job. I'm surprised he lasted this long, almost as surprised I am that Hotch even let him on the team for this long."

"He did do a good job on that case. Who knows how long it would have taken us to find the UnSub if he hadn't cracked that code."

"We don't need someone like that on this team. He acted like he was better than all of us just, because he has a higher IQ. People like that don't belong here."

"You don't know what he's like and you shouldn't judge."

"Like he wasn't judging any of us. People like that are all the same, He came with a silver spoon in his mouth, had mommy and daddy pay for everything in his perfect little world even school over and over again. He thinks he's better than us; he couldn't even be in the field, because he wasn't good enough. He has no place in the bureau."

"I have no idea where you got that impression of him. He doesn't think he's better than us dude. He's shy that's why he doesn't talk, it's not because he thinks he's better. As for not being in the field Hotch just wants to do it slowly, because of his age there's nothing wrong with that. His mind belongs here we were able to get the UnSub faster than we normally would have, because of his mind. There's a lot of UnSubs and victims we will be able to get to faster, because of his mind. That's more than a good enough reason to keep him around."

"Why are you defending him?"

"Because he really isn't that bad."

"So you enjoy his annoying little rants. You enjoy when he shows off what he knows that we don't."

"I really don't think that's why he does it. Are his rambles annoying yes, but I think he just does it when he's nervous. Don't forget he's high end autistic, he's social retarded."

"I don't care I still don't like him and he still doesn't belong on this team. It doesn't matter though, because he won't be back I guarantee it."

"You can't guarantee something like that."

"Oh yes I can. Just watch he won't show up."

Morgan looked at Jordan with worry on his face. He didn't like the way that Jordan was talking, especially when he seemed so sure that Reid wasn't going to be coming back. Morgan was worried that Jordan may have done something to Reid, but he had that thought removed from his mind when JJ's voice was heard.

"BAU we got a case."

Morgan and Jordan both got up and headed into the conference room to go over the case. They all went in and sat down and immediately Gideon noticed that Reid wasn't there.

"Where's Spencer?"

"Don't know he hasn't shown up yet." Morgan said

"That's not like him he's usually here first." Hotch said

"I'll call him." Gideon said

Gideon took out his cell phone and punched in Reid's cell phone number. It wasn't like Reid to not show up for work. He was always early from the moment Gideon met Reid he was never late. It wasn't like him to forget to set his alarm simply, because he couldn't forget. Reid had a set routine at night that he did every single night even when they were away on that case.

"He probably just forgot to set his alarm." JJ said trying to ease any worry.

"Spencer doesn't forget to set an alarm. He does the exact same thing each and every night and morning. The exact same routine ever since I've known him. He can't help it it's part of the autism. Not to mention, with his memory he never forgets to do an everyday task." Gideon explained as he listened to Reid's voicemail.

"Yet he can't seem to remember where he leaves something." Jordan said

"It's typical of people with high level autism to have small quirks. He never forgets anything, but simple things like where his coffee is or a file can easily slip his mind. Same as with him hardly ever sitting in his chair he tends to sit on his desk. If you are having a hard time understanding these things then I would suggest you research it a little." Hotch said

"There's no answer." Gideon said

"We can't just wait around for him we have a case. If he's not here and not answering his phone then obviously he isn't interested." Jordan said

"There could be other reasons why he isn't here or answering his phone. He could be sick and not hearing his phone. His phone could be dead and he's on his way." Morgan said

"Well the case is local we can always fill him in when he gets here." JJ supplied trying to come to some kind of conclusion.

"JJ's right we can't wait. The case is local so if we're not here when he gets here someone can fill him in." Hotch agreed.

"Alright Washington, D.C has a serial killer. There have been five males all in the age range of thirty to forty years of age. They were all tortured and killed. Their bodies were found in alleyways in a dumpster all found early morning when the garbage truck came by to pick up the dumpsters. Now victimology is interesting they all look different, went to different schools, have different careers in different fields. The only thing the locals have been able to tell for a connection is that each man in high school was a bully. They apparently were very horrible to students that had a higher IQ each one had done something horrific to another student. John Mayers was thirty-five; he tied a younger student in high school naked to the flag pole. Keith Rogers, thirty-one locked a younger student in their locker for over eight hours knowing the kid was terrified of the dark. Daniels Walker, forty he was gay and went out with a younger student, took him to the prom. At the prom he got a hotel room and videotaped the other boy doing sexual things to him then put it all over the school. Paul Stevens, thirty-seven he bullied one student so horribly that the boy committed suicide. Finally Mathew Kent, thirty-three he turned the whole school against one female student making the entire school bully her to the point where she dropped out and was placed in a mental institution."

"It's amazing what kids will do to each other." Morgan said

"Each man was tortured for roughly twelve hours before they died. Each were taken at different times in the day from different places. However, it would appear that the UnSub stalked them for quiet sometime. He only goes after those that were brutal bullies in school so he must have done some research." Jordan said

"Do the locals have any suspects?" Gideon asked

"Not at this time no." JJ answered

"It's safe to say that the UnSub was bullied himself in high school; and now he is going after men that were bullies. Maybe he went to one of the schools that one of the victims were attending." Morgan said

"It's possible, but right now there are a lot of possibilities. Let's get out there and see what we can come up with." Gideon said

"JJ I want you to speak with the victims' families as well as the students that each one bullied if we can locate them. They might have something to do with this or they might have an idea as to who would want them dead for what they did." Hotch said

"I'll get on it."

"Alright let's head out." Hotch said

They all got up to head out as Jordan was about to leave the room Morgan grabbed his arm to keep him there. He waited until they were the only ones left in the room before speaking.

"Did you do something to Reid?"

"Why would you even ask me that?"

"You come into work today with this smile on your face. When, ever since Reid has been on this team each day you're miserable. You come in today with a smile talking about how you can guarantee that Reid won't be coming back and here we are he's not here and won't answer his phone. So did you do something to him or say something to him?"

"No I didn't. I told you he couldn't hack it on this team and I was right. So I woke up in a good mood this morning it's no big deal."

"Alright, but if I find out otherwise."

"You won't now are you done being crazy, because we got an UnSub to catch."

"Let's go then."

They left together and grabbed their jackets on their way out. They all piled into two different SUV's and then took off for Washington, D.C.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The day had been long they had been out in D.C working on the case and so far they had a few leads that they were going to work through. They had headed back to their homes so they could get some sleep for the night and continue tomorrow. Gideon was on his way over to check up on Reid. No one had heard from him all day and Gideon couldn't help but feel worried. This wasn't like Reid in all the time that he had known him. If Reid wanted to quit he would have said something to him and to Hotch out of respect. There was no reason why Reid hadn't shown up or even called to let them know he was sick or going to be late. Gideon pulled into Reid's neighborhood and he instantly felt on edge. He hated this area and he hated that Reid lived in this area even more. He understood that he had to take care of his mother; he was the only one on the team that knew just what Reid had to deal with every day. Gideon knew that this place was all Reid could afford at the moment, but that didn't make this any easier. It didn't change that he worried about Reid every night. Gideon parked out front of Reid's place and walked over and knocked on the door. There was no answer so Gideon knocked louder this time.

"Spencer it's me."

Only after he spoke did he hear some movement in the house. Gideon shivered at the cold wind that blew by and was hoping that Reid would answer the door so he could get out of the cold. What he didn't expect when Reid came to the door for him to look like he got ran over by a truck. He was wearing a couple sweaters and heavy pants, but Gideon could see him shivering still. What shocked him more was the fact that Reid's face was covered in bruising and cuts not to mention the tint of blue in his lips.

"Spencer what happened to you?"

"It's nothing."

Spencer moved back so Gideon could come into his place. The house was just as cold as outside and it was dark.

"Spencer where is your heat and electricity?"

"The landlord hasn't paid the bills apparently he just uses that money for drinking."

"So you have no heat or electricity? For how long now?"

"Just a couple of days now. It's not that big of a deal."

"Yes it is almost as much of a big deal it is that you clearly got beat up. Just like it's a big deal that you didn't show up to work today and we have a case in D.C"

"I've been sleeping all day, haven't been feel well. I'm sorry I didn't call, but I won't be coming back."

Reid said as he slowly made his way over to the couch. Gideon could tell that he was in a great deal of pain by the way he moved. Reid sat down on the couch and tried to stay warm against the cold. Gideon knew he needed to get answers from Reid, but he also knew he couldn't leave him here with his house like this.

"Spencer grab some things in a bag you're stay with me until you have heat and electricity again. We can discuss everything once we get to my place."

"There's nothing to discuss."

"Your face is covered in bruises and judging by the way you're walking there's more underneath all them clothes. On top of that you no longer want to work for the BAU which is sudden considering you were fine two days ago. I would say there is a lot to discuss Spencer."

"It's my decision where I work."

"Yes it is your decision, but this isn't something you should just take lightly. It's only been two weeks and until today you were happy working there. So what changed?"

"Nothing it just isn't for me."

"I don't believe you. I think that something happened to cause you to not want to work there and I believe that is connected to how you look right now. Now I'm not joking go get a bag and let's go, when we get to my place we will be talking about this Spencer."

Reid didn't argue he was too tired and in too much pain to do so with Gideon. Especially since he knew that Gideon was going to win this time around. Reid got up off his couch and headed into his bedroom to grab a few things and put it in a bag. Once that was done Gideon and himself left his cold house and got into Gideon's car. Gideon turned on the heat right away to try and warm Reid up. The fact that Reid's lips were tinted blue was not a good thing the last thing Reid needed right now was to get hypothermia. He was probably already going to get one hell of a cold from the looks of it. The ride was done in silence and it wasn't until Reid was sitting on Gideon's couch with Gideon in the chair next to it when the silence was broken.

"Spencer I need to know what happened. Did someone on the team do this to you?"

"I just got attacked it's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal; and that's not what I asked you. Did Morgan or Jordan attack you?"

"No."

"You're lying I can tell. Look why don't you just start from the beginning and tell what happened if you won't tell me who."

Reid took a deep breath and began to tell Gideon what happened. He left out the part about how he recognized Jordan's voice he just kept it to the fact that they were all wearing masks. He had to admit it felt good to be able to tell someone what happened instead of keeping it all locked up inside of him. He thought that he was going to die with the weight of it all and now he could breathe a little easier. The whole time Gideon didn't say anything he never did when Reid was telling him something. Over the years that they had known each other Reid had told Gideon quite a few things about his past and Gideon always just sat there listening. It was nice to have someone that just listened to him instead of judging him and trying to fix him. Gideon just simply accepted who he was and how he was, he didn't try and change him he only did his best to encourage and comfort him when needed. Once Reid was done Gideon just sat there thinking about what to say. He just found out that his protégé was kidnapped, beaten, raped and left to die tied up in some factory in the middle of a winter storm. It was no wonder he wasn't at work today and Gideon couldn't help but think that someone on the team had something to do with it. The problem was Reid refused to tell him who it was so there was nothing he could do about it. Gideon knew that Reid wouldn't go to a hospital so they could do a rape kit he had already said he took a shower so the evidence of who would be gone.

"I need you to tell me who it was. I know you recognized one of the men from his voice Spencer. If it was someone from the team you need to tell me so I can do something about it. We can't have someone like that not only on the team but in the bureau as well. Who did this to you?"

"I don't know. I told you they had masks and my memory only works with what I read I don't always know someone by their voice."

"Alright well I hope you will tell me who it is soon. I can understand you might not feel ready to do so, but it is something important for me to know. For now why don't you take a shower to warm up and then get some sleep. I'm going to go to bed I might not be here when you wake up we have that case. if you get up tomorrow and change your mind we will be in D.C at percent number twenty you can find us there or they will know where we are."

"Okay. I'm going to shower and see if the hot water helps to warm me up. Good night."

"Good night Spencer."

With that they parted ways Reid went into the washroom to shower and Gideon went into his bedroom to get ready for bed. In the morning Gideon was up before Reid so he made some coffee and got ready to head out to work. Before he left he did put a case file down on the coffee table for Reid to go over if he wished to do so. Gideon wasn't going to push if Reid didn't want to be in the BAU anymore than he would be supportive of that. Gideon only wanted Reid to be happy and he had thought he would be on the team. What he didn't expect was for someone on the team to go to such lengths to keep him away from it. Gideon knew that Hotch wouldn't have had anything to do with this nor would JJ. So that only left Morgan and Jordan. As much as Morgan like to tease Reid he couldn't see him going to such lengths. After all Morgan was raised by a cop father until he was ten, he had two sisters he looked out for plus his mother was a good women. Not to mention his time as a police officer in Chicago and he helped out at a community center growing up. So for Morgan to go to something this extreme seemed like a bit of a jump for him. That only left Jordan who on many occasions had bullied and picked on Reid just for the sport of it. As much as Gideon would like to believe that Jordan wouldn't do something like this he just couldn't say that for certain. Gideon didn't want to believe that anyone in law enforcement would do something like this to another person, but Gideon knew all too well that it can happen anywhere and police officers or Agents were no exception.

Gideon got to the percent in D.C to find that everyone was already there working.

"Hey where have you been?" Jordan asked

"I was taking care of something."

"Did you find Spence?" JJ asked.

"I did he was home."

"Why wasn't he here yesterday?" Hotch asked

"And where is he now?" Morgan added after.

"He's sick. Aaron a word." Gideon didn't even wait for a reply he just started to walk away from the group into one of the other empty offices. Hotch looked back to the rest of the team and told them to keep working on eliminating suspects. He joined Gideon in the empty office.

"Jason what's going on?"

"Spencer has decided to quit."

"Why?"

Hotch had to admit he wasn't expecting that. Reid had only been there just shy of two weeks and only been on one case. That case though proved to him that Reid belonged on this team. Reid never gave any indication that he wasn't happy being there.

"Two nights ago four men broke into his house and kidnaped him. They were wearing ski masks and put him into a van. They beat him, stripped him, two of the men raped him and then left him tied up in a factory away from his home. He was out in that storm for hours and when he finally got free of his restraints he had to walk back home."

"What? Did he report it? Did he go to a hospital?"

"He refuses to report it and he didn't go to a hospital he won't. When he got home he took a hot shower and then went to sleep. He told me last night when I went to check on him."

"Where is he now?"

"He's at my place. He really shouldn't be living in that house in that area. He lives down on west fifth street. His landlord hasn't paid the electricity or heat bill so his place is freezing and I can't keep letting him live there. I know that's all he can afford, but it's not safe or even livable."

"He has no heat in this weather for how long?"

"A few days apparently."

"Why is he living in a place like that?"

"It's all he can afford. His mother is ill she can't work so he pays for everything for her."

"Is what happened why he wants to quit?"

"He didn't tell me who they were, but I know he recognized one of the men his voice anyways. I think it was someone on the team."

"That's a serious accusation Jason considering it would have to be either Morgan or Jordan behind this."

"It's a feeling I have so until this is over with I don't want Morgan or Jordan leaving this percent unless it's to arrest this UnSub. I mean that I will not have someone on this team that takes part in something like this."

"Jason do you really believe that one of them could be a part of this? These men could have killed him living him out in the storm do you think Morgan or Jordan could do something like that?"

"I don't think Morgan would, but I can't put it past Jordan based on his behavior towards Spencer. Until this is worked out I don't want them doing much outside the percent on this case or any other case. it's a feeling I have, but I know one of them is involved in this."

"Alright here is what we are going to do. Until this case is over; Morgan and Jordan will stay here until it's time for an arrest. I need them in the field for the arrest in case something happens. When the case is closed I want to speak with Reid and see what happened then together we can speak to Morgan and Jordan about it. From there we can decide what to do."

"Agreed. They both need to be spoke to and see how they react and think about what happened. Personally I think Jordan is the one behind this, but I can't be certain."

"I can also speak with Haley her sister is in real-estate she might be able to help out. Find something more decent and keep it in his price range."

"That would be nice if she could do that. He needs to get out of that area it's not safe for him. He's doing everything he can to keep his mother in the place that she is in, but it's not easy for him. if we could find a way to get him in some place safer that would be great."

"I'll speak to Haley about it when we get back. Once this case is finished we can speak to them about it for right now we need to find this UnSub."

"Let's see what they got."

They both went back into the room where Morgan, Jordan, JJ and the lead detective was working.

"What do we got?" Gideon asked

"So we've narrowed it down to just four possible. All of them were horrifically bullied in high school and all have gone through some kind of stressor." JJ said

"The problem is we don't know what one is the UnSub. We are waiting on the back ground checks to come back and see if any of them have a criminal record." Morgan said

"You know we could really use a tech person for the team. It would make this a lot easier if we could just call someone and they do it right away." Jordan complained

"The Director is working on it. How long will it take for us to get the back ground checks?" Hotch asked

"A couple hours." Detective Brown answered.

"Alright let's make some calls and see who will come in to just talk to us. Maybe we can eliminate some suspects." Hotch answered.

As the hours ticked by they were finally able to find the UnSub, Richard Steven. He was bullied in public and high school. He had an above average intelligence that pushed him a few grades ahead. Which, was the cause of the bullying. They all suited up to head out to his residence. Morgan couldn't help but think something was wrong. The whole time Hotch nor Gideon would let Jordan or himself talk to any of the suspects. They were kept in the one room away from everyone. Something seemed like something was going on. Hotch and Gideon wouldn't even speak to either of them, plus he didn't believe that Reid was sick. Something wasn't right and Morgan was going to find out once this case was wrapped up. They pulled up to the UnSub's residence. Morgan kicked the door in once they announced themselves. They all went and started to search the rooms, but they quickly stopped moving when they could smell some kind of gas. Before they could even register what was going on they all fell down one after the other.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Reid woke up the next morning in pain, but he was happy that he wasn't cold anymore at least. He slowly dragged himself out of bed to go to the washroom. He knew Gideon wouldn't be here that he would be in D.C working on the case. After using the washroom he went into the kitchen to find some coffee. He started a pot and saw that it was one in the afternoon already. Apparently he was more tired than he thought he was. He stood in the kitchen watching the coffee maker work its magic and fill up the pot. He got out a mug and the milk and sugar, when it was done he filled his mug and threw in a load of sugar just like he liked it. With coffee in hand he went into the living room to see that there was a case file on the coffee table. Reid knew that was the case that the team was working on, that Gideon purposely left it there for him to read if he chooses to.

It wasn't that Reid didn't want to be on the team he really did love this job. The problem was he couldn't do this job with Jordan there. He couldn't be afraid everyday going into work. He had to be able to trust them with his life and he didn't trust Jordan at all. He didn't even really trust Morgan, but he could deal with that. Jordan had taken his dislike for him to a whole new level and it was a level that Reid just couldn't forgive nor forget even if he wanted to. Still there was someone out there killing men and Reid couldn't ignore that either. So he sat down and picked up the file, he saw that Gideon had even left his notes in there and the profile. Reid spent a couple of hours reading and going through it all when he noticed something that the others hadn't. This UnSub wouldn't go quietly and he wouldn't be able to be talked down by someone he felt was a bully. No one on the team understood him and if they had figured out who it was they could very well be walking into a trap.

Reid pulled out his cell phone and phoned Gideon's phone only for it to go to voicemail. He then called Hotch and got the same thing. He flipped to the first page of the case file and found the precinct's phone number and dialed it. He asked to speak to the lead detective on the case.

"Detective Brown."

"Yes this is SSA Dr. Spencer Reid I work with the BAU team."

"Ah the one that is off sick. What can I do for you?"

"Is the team there? I called their cell phones, but there is no answer."

"No they went out to arrest Richard Steven's a few hours ago actually."

"You need to get over there. They missed something it's a trap."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes it's a trap you need to check on them."

"Alright I'll head over with a squad and help them out."

"I'm on my way there call me when you find something please."

"I will."

Reid hung up his cell phone and went into the bedroom to get dressed. He didn't have any professional clothes with him so he put on a pair of jeans, a long sleeved shirt and then his jacket. He knew that Gideon had left his car here, for he was driving one from the Bureau last night. Reid put his jacket and shoes on then grabbed the keys that were hanging up by the door and left. He hated driving, but he didn't have a choice right now they could be in trouble.

Morgan was the first one to wake up. He found not only himself but Gideon, Hotch, JJ, and Jordan all there with him. They were all in the same position sitting against a wall with their wrists cuffed above their heads. Morgan pulled on the restraints to see if he could get free, but they were bolted into the stone wall. He saw that Hotch and Jordan were starting to come to as well. Within five minutes everyone was awake and taking in their surroundings.

"What happened?" JJ asked

"There was a trap, some kind of gas." Jordan answered.

"We missed something in the profile. We should have seen this coming." Gideon said

"What did we miss though? We need to figure this out before it's too late." Hotch said

"We knew that he had tortured his victims before he killed them. This must be where he did it. Obviously his intelligence is higher than we thought it was or that was on record. He thought ahead to set up a trap in his home with some kind of gas just in case. He's a lot more organized than we had thought." Morgan said

"The one time I actually go with you guys on a raid and this happens." JJ said. She couldn't believe this was happening. She had only been on a hand full of raids since she joined the team a few months back. The only reason she went this time was because they thought with her being a female she could talk to the UnSub if need be.

"It's going to be alright JJ we can figure this out." Morgan said trying to reassure her even if he didn't know how they would do that. Suddenly a noise broke through the room, which they figured was a basement based on the staircase off to the side of them.

"You have your cell phone?" Jordan asked Gideon with surprise on his face.

"He must not have searched out pockets." Morgan said

"Our hands are chained to the wall it's no threat for him if we have phones." Hotch answered.

"That's Spencer's ring tone. I left him a case file he must have figured something out." Gideon said

"Twenty bucks says he figured out it was a trap." Morgan said

"This is good though. With you not answering he'll think something is wrong." Hotch said.

When the ringing stopped Hotch's phone was the next one to go off.

"That's probably him." Gideon said

"Did you tell him what precinct we were in?" Hotch asked Gideon

"I did, I told him that they would know where we were if he had something for us."

"Good with us not answering he'll call the precinct and tell them what's going on. All we have to do is just wait it out. If Richard comes down we can try talking to him and see if we can get him to release us." Hotch said

"So your plan is to just wait and hope that Reid finds us. So we're supposed to put our lives in his hands. That's just great we're all gonna die." Jordan said

"There is a lot more to Spencer than you give him credit for. He'll pull through." Gideon said

It had been a good twelve hours since Reid had arrived at precinct twenty in D.C. The whole place was alive with chaos. Everyone was trying to find a place where Richard Steven would have taken his victims. Detective Brown had taken a team to Richard's home, but no one was there. The only indication that something had gone wrong was the guns and badges left on the ground. When Reid had gotten to the precinct everyone of course was staring at him. This time though it had nothing to do with the fact that he looked like someone's kid who came for a visit; no it was the serious bruising and the limp that he had that cause the looks. Of course no one asked what happened to him which Reid was thankful for. There was too much work to be done for anyone to focus on it. They had been trying to come up with a place where Richard would take his victims to torture them.

Reid had started to work on a geographic profile to try and narrow an area down for them to go through records and see what they could find. He had gone over the ME reports and was glad that the UnSub hadn't started to torture his victims until twenty-four hours in. What he did to them during that time he didn't know. If he had a guess it would be that he left them waiting somewhere and at some point he would go and speak to them. This UnSub was the type that he wanted his victims to know just why they are there. He would make sure he went over everything they did to their victims in high school. Richard Steven was bullied his whole life he went after bullies. That meant that he wouldn't hurt someone if they weren't a bully so some of the team had a good chance getting out with no injuries.

Finally they had narrowed it down to a five block radius. Now they were just waiting for the public records to come through so they could check and see if Richard had any more property.

"Records came back." Detective Brown said as he entered the room Reid was in.

Reid moved away from the map that he had been staring at and moved over to the table where Detective Brown was placing the pages down on.

"Alright look for something that has Richard's name on it or a relative within the search radius."

They flipped through the pages one after the other and finally Reid came across an old house that had belonged to Daniel Steven. It was Richard's father. He had passed away just six months ago, the stressor.

"See what you can find out on this Daniel Steven. We need to get over to the address and get the team out of there."

"I'll have one of my men run the name and see what we can find out about him. I'll set up a task force to go in and retrieve your men."

"I'm going with you. If you go in there shooting they could get injured in the process. I can talk to Richard and see if I can get him to end this peacefully."

"No offense, but you're in no condition to go in and talk someone down. You don't even carry a gun."

"I'll be fine. I understand him that's all I need. Besides I out rank you so this isn't up for discussion."

"Fine, but you go in wearing a vest and an ear piece so we can communicate if something goes wrong. I can also feed you information about his father when we have it."

"Let's get ready."

They didn't know how long they had been sitting there in the basement. They did know they had been there long enough for them to run out of things to say to each other. They all sat in silence each one trying to get their mind off of the fact that they had to seriously pee. Richard had yet to make an appearance and they didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. They took it as a good thing at least he wasn't there torturing them. For that they were thankful for. The problem was the longer they sat there the more their worry grew. No one had phoned their cell phones since they first woke up which meant that either Reid was looking into this or he just figured they were busy. If nothing else they knew the police would be looking for them, but how long it would take them they didn't know. The after effects of the gas had long worn off from them. They no longer had a headache or felt nauseous which, was a good sign that the gas wasn't permanently dangerous. The sound of a door opening brought their attention back to the top of the stairs.

They saw who they assumed was Richard Steven walking down the stairs. He wasn't a very built man and definitely not intimidating at all. He was maybe five foot six and weighed no more than one hundred and fifty pounds. He had black hair that was kept short with blue eyes. All of a sudden the gas made sense. It wasn't a trap that he set up for them; it was how he got his victims. He would lure then into his home and hit them with the gas knocking them out. He walked over to them so he could stand in front of them. They were all chained up to the wall one right after the other so Richard stood against the opposite wall so he could look at them the gun in his hand didn't go unnoticed by the agents.

"I'm sorry you are here, but I assure you no harm will come to you." He said as he looked at JJ.

"Richard I know you killed those men, because they were bullies. I understand that, but none of us are bullies. We all work very hard to stop people like that." JJ said in a soft gentle voice.

"I mean no disrespect maim; but you don't know the men you work with very well. Alpha males are always bad men they need to be put into their place. They treat everyone like they are below them, like they are nothing but scum."

"Not all men are like that. We work for the FBI we all took an oath to protect people. We aren't the enemy. We help people just like you want to help people." JJ said.

"I protect people. I give them the justice that they deserve. No one was there for them in school, no one protected them not even the police. They didn't care they always just said the same thing that they should toughen up and get over it. They protected the bullies and why, because they were popular and had a bright future. What about those kids future that got bullied? No one cared how much emotional and mental abuse they had to go through each and every day. Mathew Kent bullied poor Kathleen Baker so horribly her parents had to put her in a mental hospital, because she kept trying to kill herself. The school never did anything to punish or stop him. Thousands of students are being bullied every day. All you have to do is go to a high school and just watch. They don't even try to hide it."

"Hey I agree man high school is horrible. I have two younger sisters they got bullied, because we're black and we grew up in Chicago. Every school has bullies and a lot of the time no one does anything to stop it. That's not what we do though. We want to help people we do our best each day to make sure that innocent people are kept safe." Morgan said trying to play the race card. This UnSub didn't need to know that he was actually popular in school.

"You think, because you are black that I'll sympathize with you. You just said you grew up in Chicago eighty percent of the population is black. If you had said you were a ninety pound white boy is Chicago I might have some form of sympathy for you. None of you understand how it feels to be bullied every single day, because of something like your IQ."

"You're right we don't know what it's like. You have a higher IQ then all of us. We don't understand how hard it is in schools being different. I have a good friend that is a lot like you. He has Asperger growing up for him was unbelievably difficult. He told me about some of it. I could tell that there was a lot more that happened to him that he couldn't talk about. He was twelve when he graduated high school. I'm sure you can only imagine how difficult that would have been. You yourself had skipped a couple of grades." Gideon said. He was hoping that if he could get him to sympathize with Reid then they might have a chance.

Before the UnSub could even answer anything to that the basement door opened. Slowly Reid came into view of the room. Richard's eyes went directly on him including the gun. Hotch spoke first in a hurry voice.

"He's not armed. He doesn't carry a gun. Do not shoot."

Slowly Reid came down the stairs with his hands up in a non-threatening way.

"He's right I'm not armed. Even if I did have a gun you would have to be two feet in front of me for me to even hit you."

"Who are you?"

Reid walked to the bottom of the stairs but stayed there.

"My names Dr. Spencer Reid. I would be the good friend that Gideon was talking about."

"Ya what do you want?"

"I just want to talk."

Reid slowly sat down on the bottom step leaning against the side railing. He was in a great deal of pain and it was clear on his face. Everyone in the room except for Jordan and Gideon couldn't believe how bad Reid looked. Hotch immediately felt anger build up inside of him.

"What they think that you will be able to relate to me. That you can stop me by having some story about you? You're an FBI agent do you really think I'm going to believe you went through hard times. So what if you have a high intelligence that doesn't mean anything. I bet you grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth."

"We are both intelligent men so why don't you put the gun down. You can see that I am no threat to you physically. I mean what I said I only want to talk. If you wish to call me a liar afterwards then be my guest."

Richard took a few seconds to think it over. Reid had a good point in his condition he wouldn't be able to uphold a physical confrontation. He slowly lowered his gun once he was certain that no one in the room was a threat.

"Those men were monsters they deserved to die."

"I'm not arguing that they weren't monsters. They did horrible things to fellow students. Yes you can argue that they were just kids themselves, but kids do know better. They know when a joke is pushed too far. They know when they are being cruel to another human being. There is no excuse for them. Lots of people come from broken homes that turn out perfectly fine and a lot of people who come from great homes who end up serial killers. Environment has nothing to do with it. Those men knew right from wrong and they choose to ignore it for their own reasons."

"I always thought it was genetics that made a person decide to ignore all moral ethics. I would watch fellow students in my schools see how they interacted. Then I would watch their parents when there was parent teacher night. Ninety percent of the parents acted like their child. I was confident that if I had the grandparents that the results would be the same. I agree that environment has nothing to do with it, but I think that nurture does have a hand in it. A boy grows up watching his father beat his mother the boy assumes that's how it works and he beats women. Only a small percentage of the boys would grow up to feel that abuse is wrong."

"For that reason alone is why law enforcement officials will always have a job. People will never learn that violence solves nothing. Look at this situation right now. You have killed men and in your perspective they were evil, for a lack of a better word. However, to someone else they were a son, some a brother, even a father. Now there are parents who have to bury their child, siblings who must live without and worst of all children who will never know their father's love. To them you are the one that is the monster and evil."

"They never knew what he did to those kids."

"That may be true for some and my not be true for others. Did you know that John Mayers had a medical condition? The reason he acted the way that he did was, because he had a serious illness, a brain tumor. He was only sixteen when the doctor's diagnosed him. The tumor had been growing for four years, which is why he was so different during that time. The tumor changed his personality and after it was removed and he was cancer free he went back to being a loving and caring person. He went to Charlie Davis' house and apologized for everything he ever did to him. It was the tumor that made him do what he did. Keith Rogers wrote a letter to every single person he ever bullied in all of his schools after he graduated college. He started a non-profit youth organization that dealt with bullied teens."

"Why? Why would he do that?"

"As humans we make mistakes. Mistakes are important in life, without them we would never know who we are and more importantly who we aren't. Keith Rogers is a perfect example of that fact. He made mistakes growing up just like every child does and not only did he learn from them he corrected them. If you judge someone based on what they did as a child or teenager then the killing will never end. Who an individual was growing up is never who they are now."

"What are you some philosophy teacher?"

"No I do have a BA in psychology. That's how I know why you are doing this."

"Oh really you think you know me eh?"

"I know you're father left you and your mom growing up. You were just twelve at the time and it was right around that time when the bullying got to its peak. My assumption is that your father left, because he didn't know how to handle you. Having a gifted child is never easy for most parents especially those with a lower IQ. Your father would have been a sports fin-addict and had dreams of his son being one. You would have tried to develop an interest in sports, but at the end of the day you weren't any good at it and you preferred to read. You kept in contact, but it was spotty and you never got to hear him say that he was proud of you or that he loved you. When he died six months ago all the memories from growing up came back to you. That's when you started to stalk your victims and get to know their routines. You believe that your father is proud of you for standing up for people. For ridding the world of evil."

"You can shrink me all you want, but that doesn't mean you understand anything of my life."

"I know that being the smartest person in the room is like you're the only person in the room. Being a person of higher intelligence is lonely and painful. I know that you would have wished every night to just be like everyone else and then maybe your dad would come back. I know that, because I did it to. My father walked out on my mother and I when I was ten. No explanation other than the fact that he couldn't handle it anymore. He wanted a normal son and I couldn't give him that. I wanted to be just like everyone else, but I wasn't made that way. I still wish I could be normal I can't help, but think how much different my life would have been. I can't help, but wonder if I was normal that maybe I would be happy."

"My father used to tell me all the time that I had a choice. That I could be just like everyone else, but I chose not to be. I tried being in the proper grade, but I just couldn't do it. I was so bored and annoyed at everything. When I got to high school I felt alive until the bullying started and then I wished I could go back, but you can't go back. Once you moved up a few grades you can't just go back down to where you were supposed to be."

"You should be glad you're smart. You could be anything you want to be and yet you complain about it. When everyone else has to work their ass off to get somewhere." Jordan said

Richard raised the gun and pointed it at Jordan ready to shoot.

"Richard don't shoot anyone. Ignore them and focus on me. I'm the one that understands they don't. Especially him he's nothing, but a…"

Reid caught himself at what he was about to say. He was about to say nothing but a bully, but that would make it difficult for him to convince Richard not to shoot him.

"Nothing but a what? Why not finish the sentence?"

"Because he is not worth it. They don't know how it feels to live in fear every day. I was twelve years old in high school and every day I forced myself to go back. The thing is your whole life someone is always there to tell you to just wait that it gets better. In high school your guidance counselor tells you to just wait till college it won't happen anymore. Then you get to college and your counselor tells you to just wait until you get into a job that it won't happened anymore. Then you get a job that you've sacrificed and suffered just to get there and it doesn't end. I was tormented in grade school all the way through University and then I finally get to the FBI Academy. I thought for sure that the bullying would end, after all they were Agents. Their job was to protect people to be open-minded and not be judgmental and yet it was worse. I found out that forty year old men were the most jealous age group out of them all. Here I was not even twenty-one and doing their job. I had teachers actually fail me on purpose just to try and get me to leave. I had other students jump me after school. Even worse the teachers would do it from time to time. They did anything and everything they could think of to make me leave."

"So why didn't you? Why put yourself through all of that just to work for them."

"It's funny; because my whole life all I have ever heard was that I could be anything. I could be in a lab right now working on a cure for cancer, or working for NASA building rockets. I didn't know what I wanted to do so I stayed in school and tried to figure it out. Until one day this man showed up in my psychology class and he was a Profiler for the FBI. He had me mesmerized and I couldn't remember the last time that happened. After class we talked and it was different for me, because I felt like I could actually speak with him. Usually I stutter and ramble on and on, but with him there was no judgment I could just be me. I knew in that moment that a Profiler was exactly what I wanted to do. So many people asked me why and the answer is simple. I just want to help people; you'll be the first and the last in this job for me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I quit yesterday. I'm only here, because they went missing."

"Why quit if you like the job?"

"I love this job. Every case it's a new puzzle I can actually help people with my intelligence it's an amazing feeling. The problem is I put profilers on a whole different level. It was my mistake I made the assumptions that they were accepting and didn't hold judgments based on their job. I was wrong they are human like everyone else. As much as I love this job I don't want to be bullied for the rest of my life. I don't want to be afraid to go into work of what my own teammates will do."

"What did one of them do that to your face?"

"A man who wore a mask did this. A very simple minded man who underestimated the strength of my memory. I have an eidetic memory most people assume it's only to what I read, but I also remember what I see and what I hear. So when a man wears a mask and speaks if I have heard his voice before then I will know who it is."

Reid's voice was soft and gentle the whole time. However, when he was just speaking about the UnSub and understanding him you could hear the confidences in his voice. It was easy for Reid to talk about someone else and analyze them. It's what would make him a great therapist. When he spoke about his own childhood and the assault his voice didn't hold much confidence and he didn't keep eye contact. It was amazing at how his confidence quickly switched when he couldn't rely on his intelligences.

"That did answer my question."

"Not out-right no. This isn't about me though, it's about you and what decision you are going to make. You don't know if they are bullies or not. Are you willing to risk killing an innocent person?"

"What makes you so sure they aren't bullies or were?"

"I'll admit I have only been a profiler for two weeks. I can tell you that, that man." Reid said as he pointed to Gideon.

"I've known him for a few years it's because of him that I decided to join the FBI. Someone who is patient and understanding as he is could never have been a bully. The man beside him is Agent Hotchner. Like I said I've only known him for two weeks, but during that time I've seen how protective he can be of his team. His personality shows that growing up in school he would have been the one to stick up for the bullied. He's stern, but underneath you can tell that he cares for the members of his team. Agent Jareau is soft and gentle she deals with the victims' family. You can tell she's from a small town she has that down home feel to her. Probably came from one of the rare schools where they didn't have bullies. The five of these agents are good people. "

"That's interesting that you said that. Even more interesting is the fact that you left out the two muscle men. Do you not see them as good men? Or perhaps they are nothing more than a bully."

"I never called them bullies. They just have different opinions about what makes a good agent and what doesn't."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning they don't understand either one of us and they don't even try to. That doesn't make them bad men it just makes them simple minded. Teasing is nothing but words that come from a closed minded person."

"Words hurt."

"That they do, but it doesn't make them worthy of death."

"So what I just let everyone go? I'll go to jail if I do."

"Unless you plan on killing yourself you'll be going to jail regardless. I can however, do my best to help you. There might be something we can work out with the DA some kind of deal to make things easier for you."

"And why would you want to do that?"

"Because you're not a bad person. You went through a hard horrible life. You have chosen to go down this road, but you didn't get there on your own. There are a lot of factors in how you ended up this way. I want to help stop the bullying not just throw you in jail and ignore it."

"I used to be a prosecutor I can talk to the DA and we may be able to get you into a care facility. Help you work through your demons and over- come what has happened to you. It would be like jail, but you would be around other prisoners that are not violent. They would be more like you than normal serial killers." Hotch supplied.

"All I need you to do is put the gun down and we can walk out together."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Richard said to Hotch; however, it was Reid that answered.

"Because I trust him."

Hotch couldn't help but look at Reid when he said that. He wanted to see if it was a lie or the truth. When Hotch looked at Reid's eyes he could see no evidence that the statement had been a lie. There was a warmth that spread through Hotch's chest at the fact that he had Reid's trust. It meant a lot to him that after everything Reid had gone through not just growing up but in the last couple of days. For him to be able to trust him truly was an honor. Richard stood there thinking about what to do. He knew that he really didn't have much of a choice he was going to jail either way. The only way out was to kill himself and that wasn't something he wanted to do. The only option he had was to take their advice and see if they would actually stand by what they said. Slowly Richard lowered his gun and threw it across the room gently on the ground. Reid got up and walked over to Richard.

"I just need to cuff you then we can leave."

Richard turned around so Reid could put the cuffs on his wrists behind his back. As he did that he spoke into his mic that it was all clear. Detective Brown came down the stairs as Reid was searching Richard's pockets to find the key. Once he found the key he handed it to Detective Brown and headed up the stairs with Richard beside him. Detective Brown turned his attention to the chained agents. He went over to JJ first.

"You guys alright?"

"Besides the fact that we all probably really have to pee we're fine." JJ said with a smile.

Once her hands were un-cuffed she stood up for the first time in hours. Detective Brown moved to Gideon next and then down the line as each one was released.

"Detective can you give us all a moment?" Gideon asked

"Sure I'll go check on the kid and make sure he's alright with Richard."

"He's not a kid." Morgan instantly said

"I'm sorry I didn't mean anything by it. I call all my rookies kid as well it just comes out."

"Its fine, just don't let him hear you say that." Gideon said

Detective Brown gave a small nod and headed up the stairs to make sure Richard wasn't giving anyone any problems. JJ was the first to speak.

"Reid's quitting? And what the hell happened to him?"

"Reid was attacked two nights ago by four men wearing ski masks. They kidnapped him, beat him and then left him tied up in some old factory to die. If he hadn't been able to break free the storm would have killed him." Hotch said

"Oh my god." JJ whispered she couldn't believe this. He was so young and to have to go through something like that it was heartbreaking.

"Does he know who they are?" Jordan asked

"He recognized one of the voices, but he hasn't told me who yet. But he will." Gideon said.

"Are we going to go look for these bastards?" Morgan asked

"If Reid wishes to report this and press charges then yes we will." Hotch answered

"Why wouldn't he want to press charges?" Morgan asked

"That is something only Spencer can answer." Gideon said

"Why is he quitting though?" JJ asked

"Everything that Spencer said about his past is true. I didn't know about what happened at the academy and I will be talking to him about it. I can't look the other way when our teachers are abusing other students. Spencer does not want to be bullied forever. He had a great interest in working for the BAU, but it took me a long time to convince him that he would be okay here. I told him that the members of my team were understanding and accepting of new people. I told him that this place would be where he belonged. Instead what he got was teasing, bullying, insulted and worst of all betrayed by a team member. I'm actually starting to regret convincing him to be here." Gideon said

"Look I'll admit I wasn't happy when you told us that he would be on the team. He's young, he can't fight and he can't shoot. I thought he would be arrogant and talk down to us, but he isn't. I'll admit I was being judgmental and I have picked on him. That was wrong of me and I will go and talk to him and apologize for it. On the last case I told him when we were in the car that his mind belonged on this team. I know I haven't done a very good job of showing him I want him here, but I do. I don't want him to quit and I certainly don't want him to be beaten up and bullied." Morgan said

"When it comes down to it Reid deserves to be here and belongs on this team more than the three of you. Whether you like it or not I would fire the three of you if it meant that Reid would stay. It has nothing to do with who has been here the longest or who I like. Reid is invaluable he just talked down an UnSub that none of us would have been able to do. Once again his mind proves that he is a great asset to this team. With his mind he will be able to catch UnSubs faster than all of us without him. I am going to do everything I can to convince him not to quit. So if you can't handle him being on this team and respect him than consider yourself fired." Hotch said

"This is bullshit. You don't even know him. So what if he can talk an UnSub down how is that going to be helpful when he actually has to shot someone or fight? We can all talk an UnSub down and done it before, but if you can't protect yourself and the rest of us what good is he?" Jordan said

"You don't need a gun to kill someone." Gideon said

"This is bullshit I'm going outside and see if they need anything." Jordan said as he turned around and left.

"You said betrayed by a team member." JJ said

"I did." Gideon answered back

"Do you think someone in the BAU set up his attack?"

"I believe that it was someone on this team that set it up and was there for it." Gideon answered

"Wait what?" Morgan couldn't believe what he just heard. "You can't honestly believe that one of us did this to him."

"It was either Jordan or yourself that attacked Reid; and until I find out from him who it was you both are suspended." Hotch said

"Hotch man I had nothing to do with this. I would never do that to someone."

"Maybe not. Maybe it went further than you thought and you couldn't stop it. Maybe you just thought it was a harmless prank and it went wrong. Who knows? What happened to Spencer has serious charges with it; kidnapping a federal agent, assault on a federal agent, sexual assault on a federal agent and attempted murder." Hotch was cut off by JJ.

"Sexual assault?"

"Two of the four men raped Spencer and the one that he recognized watched it happen. When they tied him up in the factory he was still naked. He spent eight hours out in the storm and almost died." Gideon said

"You actually think I would just sit there and watch something like that?" Morgan was pissed at the accusations that he would do something that horrible as to sit and watch someone being raped.

"I'm not saying you did and I'm not saying that Jordan did either, but until Reid says that you two were not involved there is nothing I can do. You will both suspended I can't risk you both being on this team if either one of you did this. Morgan you must understand the seriousness of these actions. Not only is Reid a federal agent he is just twenty-one. He's young and innocent I can't just ignore this." Hotch said

"Let me talk to him maybe he'll tell me what happened." Morgan said

"No you are not going to speak with him. No one is until Hotch and myself have spoken to him. He can't feel threatened in any way right now we need an honest answer from him. He can't feel threatened when he does give one." Gideon said

"Fine I'm going to talk to Jordan."

"That's not a good idea either."

"Hotch Jordan said something to me the other day and I just want to talk to him about it. I had nothing to do with this. You've known me for two years now do you honestly think I would do something like this?"

"No I don't, but I can't be too careful with this. You want to speak with Jordan fine, but you both are to stay away from Reid am I clear?"

"Yes sir."

Morgan left and went up the stairs to go and speak with Jordan. After hearing all of this what Jordan said the other day about Reid not coming back was making sense. Morgan was pissed that this happened to Reid he was just a kid and he didn't deserve this. Morgan couldn't believe how calm Reid was in this situation he was able to control his emotions and speak to the UnSub like he was his therapist. Reid was able to get him to surrender without any harm coming to them. Reid could learn a lot from Morgan, but Morgan just learned that he could learn a lot from Reid. Morgan found Jordan over by Detective Brown speaking to him about how they found the team.

"Jordan." Morgan called him over to where they could talk alone. Jordan came over to Morgan and could tell that he was pissed.

"What's got you all pissed off besides the fact that Hotch would throw us away like yesterday's trash."

"What did you mean when you said that shit the other day about Reid not coming back?"

"I didn't mean anything by it. It was just a feeling I told you that."

"So it's just a coincidence that Reid gets attacked the night before you said that he wouldn't be back?"

"How is him being attack have anything to do with me?"

"Because Hotch just suspended both of us until he could talk to Reid. He thinks one of us did this to him. He recognized the one man's voice. The man that sat there and watched as two of his buddies raped him."

"Why the fuck would we get suspended? Like we don't have anything better to do than go after him. Whatever happened to him sucks, but that little fuck is actually going to lie and say we had something to do with this shit."

"He hasn't said we had anything to do with it. Gideon and Hotch said that they thought someone on the team was behind it. They are going to speak to him and find out until then we are both suspended and can't speak to him."

"This is bullshit that little fucker is now messing with my money and career. I can't believe they would pick him and believe him over us. He hasn't earned his place to be on this team and he thinks he can just waltz in here and act like he is all that. No wonder people in the academy treated him like shit with how he acts."

"He didn't deserve this shit. He can't help how he is and it's not his fault that he is smarter than us. He was born that way he can't help it any more than I can help being black. I swear if you had anything to do with what happened to him I'll put you in the hospital."

Jordan moved so he was now in Morgan's face. Both were pissed off and Jordan felt like now he had to fight for his life and hope that Reid hadn't recognized him. If he did than he would have to make sure he was too scared to say so. Morgan stepped closer and got in Jordan's face at this point was when the rest of the team came out of the house. They saw that the two of them were close to fighting so they went over to them.

"Get out of my face Jordan."

"Or what? You gonna threaten me with this shit. Did you forget who I am and what we've been through together on this team? You're just gonna let some little kid who doesn't belong here get in between us. Maybe after being attacked he will learn to quit being a little know it all and treat people with respect."

"Are you fucking kidding me right now? He didn't deserve the shit that happened to him. Did you have something to do with this?"

"No now get out of my face bitch." Jordan pushed Morgan back and out of his face. That was the wrong thing to do right next to calling Morgan a bitch. The next thing the team knew Morgan was swinging at Jordan and they started to fight. Hotch ran over along with Gideon to try and break up the fight. Detective Brown joined in and helped Gideon hold back Jordan.

"Morgan enough!" Hotch yelled as he stood in front of Morgan.

"Both of you walk it off." Gideon said

"I swear to you Jordan if you had anything to do with what happened you'll be lucky if you can eat ever again."

"Enough both of you go separate ways now." Hotch said

Morgan went back and headed towards the house so he could stand on the porch. He wasn't going to go far he wanted to keep an eye on Jordan and Reid. He could see Reid leaning against one of the SUVs watching the scene. Jordan went and started to walk towards the other officers that were wrapping up the crime scene. Hotch and Gideon turned to each other.

"We need this to end. I know Reid might be having a hard time with telling us, but he needs to tell us who it was. If we don't put an end to this soon they are going to kill each other." Hotch said.

"I know might as well do this now. Hopefully we can get him to talk." Gideon said

They headed over to where Reid was leaning against the SUV all alone. You could see that he was exhausted and in an extreme amount of pain. Neither Hotch nor Gideon wanted to have this conversation with Reid so close to after what happened. The problem was with Morgan and Jordan being so hot they couldn't just wait and let this boil over. They had to put a stop to this quick before they both ended up in jail for assault.

"Please don't try to talk me out of quitting." Reid whispered his confidence long gone now.

"First of all you did an amazing job today. You were able to save all of us without causing any injury to anyone. I'm proud of you for what you did today and in the last couple of days. Even though you are seriously injured you pushed that aside in order to help us. Obviously I don't want you to quit, but I won't force you to be here if you feel like you won't be happy." Hotch said

"However, we both want you to take a few days and think about it before you make the decision. Everyone knows what happened and you saw what just happened between Morgan and Jordan. Spencer we need to know who it was that you recognized that night." Gideon said

"Why does it matter I'm not pressing charges."

"Spencer we know it was someone on the team. I can tell by your behavior. When I brought it up last night you refused to answer. Today when the UnSub was talking about Jordan and Morgan you tipped toed around the answer to them being bullies. We need to know if either one of them had anything to do with what happened." Gideon said

Reid was silent for a few minutes. He was trying to figure out if he should tell them or not. He was afraid that if he told them it was Jordan then Jordan would come back after him again. Reid couldn't go through that again he could barely keep it together now. He also knew that Gideon and Hotch wouldn't let this go. They would make sure that he told them who it was that was there that night. Reid figured that the sooner he answered their questions the sooner he could leave and get away from everyone.

"It was Jordan." Reid whispered.

"Alright thank you Reid. Now I can take care of this." Hotch said

"Can I go home now?"

"You can leave, but Spencer I don't want you going home. You can stay with me until your place gets fixed. It's too cold out for you not to have heat Spencer." Gideon said

"It's fine I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be used to it and it's not fine. Reid your body is still injured from the other night the cold will only make it worse. Not to mention that in a day or so you'll be getting sick from being out in the storm. The last thing you need is to get worse from the cold in your place." Hotch said.

"You are not going to win against both of us Spencer. Might as well save yourself some time and just agree." Gideon said with a gentle smile.

"Alright I'll go back to your place."

"I'll be back there shortly we just have to wrap some things up here."

"Get some sleep Reid your body needs it." Hotch said

"Ya see you later."

Reid carefully walked away from Hotch and Gideon to head to a police vehicle to see about a ride back to the station. Morgan went over to Hotch and Gideon before they had a chance to walk away.

"It was Jordan wasn't it?"

"Yes it was." Gideon said

"That fucking bastard. So now what?"

"Now I am going to arrest him and bring him in for questioning. We still don't know who the other three men are." Hotch supplied.

"Where is Reid going?"

"He's probably heading back to that station so he can get the car and head back to my place." Gideon said

"Who's taking him back?"

"Probably an officer." Gideon answered

"Can I take him?"

"Morgan I don't know if that's the best idea." Hotch said

"Look I just want to make sure he's okay and I need to talk to him. I don't want him thinking that I don't want him here. Honestly I just want to talk to him."

"Alright fine, but I don't want to find out from him that you were pushing him for answers and giving him a hard time." Hotch said sternly.

"I won't I give you my word."

"We will meet you at the station." Gideon said

Morgan gave a nod and jogged over to Reid stopping him before he got into the cruiser.

"Hey Reid come on I'll give you a ride back to the station."

"It's alright I have a ride."

"I know I just thought I would take you back. There's something serious I want to talk to you about."

"I don't…I don't know Morgan."

"Reid I give you my word I'm not going to do anything. I just want to talk."

Reid thought about it for a moment before he finally believed in what Morgan was saying. He just gave a small nod and followed Morgan over to one of the SUVs that were at the house. They got in and Morgan started to head towards the station. After a few minutes of silence to give Reid some time to get comfortable he spoke.

"Reid I'm sorry about what happened to you and about what Jordan did to you. If I had any idea that he was going to do something like that I would have stopped it. I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"It's not your fault you have nothing to be sorry for."

"I do have things to be sorry for I wasn't exactly nice to you at times. I want you to know that when I tease I don't mean to do it in a mean way. It's like a brotherly thing that I do with everyone I don't mean it in a hurtful way. I don't want you to think of me as someone you can't trust or someone that picks on you."

"It's fine."

"No it's not. You belong on this team and I want you on this team. I'm not like Jordan, yes I've judged you without giving you a chance and for that I'm sorry. I want to get to know you I want to have your trust, because you have mine. You just did something that none of us would have been able to do. You related to him and you used that to get the best possible outcome. It's your decision in the end, but Reid man you belong here and I know it hasn't felt like that, but I promise you it will get better. None of us want to bully anyone and none of us have been bullies growing up. I was popular, but I still stood up for the little guy. I told you on that case that if someone was giving you a hard time to just let me know I meant that. We treat each other like family here we look out for each other. Jordan what he did was unthinkable and he will be going to jail for it along with the other men. It's up to you what you want to do, but we are here for you."

"I'll think about it."

"That's all we're asking for man."

The rest of the drive was done in silence. Once they arrived at the station Reid thanked Morgan for the ride and then headed over to grab his things and out into Gideon's car. Morgan watched as Reid left and all he could do was hope that he would be back with them. Morgan went to go to the washroom before heading over and grabbing some coffee and wait for the others to come.

Hotch and Gideon went over to where JJ and Jordan were standing. Hotch asked Detective Brown for a set of handcuffs and once they were in his hand he went up to Jordan.

"Jordan you're under arrest for kidnapping a federal agent, assault on a federal agent and attempted murder. "

Hotch said this as he turned Jordan around and cuffed his hands behind his back.

"This is bullshit I didn't do anything."

"You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to have a lawyer present during questioning if you cannot afford a lawyer one will be appointed to you. Do you understand you rights?"

"Hotch what the hell are you doing? I haven't done anything."

"Do you understand your rights?" Hotch said in a no tolerance voice.

"Yes. Now can you tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Detective Brown can you bring him back to the station and place him in an interrogation room please." Hotch said as he handed over Jordan to Detective Brown.

"This is insane I didn't do anything."

Jordan was put into the cruiser and the door shut behind him. Detective Brown got into the cruiser and took off for the station. Leaving just the three agents behind with another SUV.

"Did Jordan really do that?" JJ asked

"According to Reid yes he did." Hotch said

"You don't believe him?" JJ asked

"I do believe him, but right now it's his word against Jordan's. I'll speak with him and see if I can get the truth from him. Until we have a confession or evidence we can't hold him." Hotch said.

"I can see about speaking with Spencer maybe I can do a cognitive interview with him. He has an extraordinary memory he should remember more than normally." Gideon said

"Is that really a good idea? I mean with his memory couldn't it may be too much for him to handle?" JJ asked

"JJ is right. I think with his memory it will cause more problems than solutions. We can get who the other men are from Jordan one way or another." Hotch said

"Alright let's get back to the station we can get some coffee and food into us." Gideon said

"Ya I totally have to pee." JJ said with a smile.

"I'm driving." Hotch said as they made their way towards the SUV. When they get to the station everything will be chaos. They will have to work on wrapping up the last case they were just on. Plus they would now need to deal with Jordan and see if Hotch can get him to confess to it. None of them had ever thought that this case would turn out like this.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Down at the station there was only one word to describe it, chaos. From the second that Detective Brown brought in Jordan everything afterwards was like a blur. Gideon, Hotch and JJ came in just a few minutes afterwards and after a trip to the washroom and lunch room to get coffee and a sandwich that a rookie officer went to get for them when their location was found. They got to work immediately. JJ and Morgan worked on writing up their reports of what just happened to them and finishing up paperwork for the case. They all wanted to be able to leave once the interview with Jordan was finished. Gideon and Hotch were in an interrogation room with Jordan. No one had really said anything, but you can cut the tension in the room with a knife. The air was so thick and heavy it was hard to breathe. Jordan was the one that couldn't handle it anymore and broke the silence.

"You know this is bullshit right."

"No it's not." Gideon said. Any trace of understanding and joy was drained from his voice. His voice was hard and calm.

"I didn't do anything to the kid. He's lying and I can't believe you would believe him over me especially with no evidence."

"We have evidence. His mind is all a jury will need." Hotch said

"So what he's intelligent that doesn't make him believable."

"No but the fact that Reid has an extraordinary mind does. He remembers everything he hears like a person's voice. You talked that's how he knows it's you. That alone is enough for an arresting charge." Hotch said

"So now I'm being arrested."

"You've already been arrested." Gideon said

"Fine then I want a lawyer."

"Jordan you know how this works first one to talk is the first one to get a deal." Hotch said

"I don't need a deal I did nothing wrong."

"We can find the other men that you did this with. We can go through your phone records, contact all your friends. The front door to Reid's was kicked in I'm sure there is a nice shoe impression on it that we can match. You might be able to sit here and not talk, but do you really think the other men will be as generous as you?" Hotch asked

"They won't be when we tell them exactly what they are being charged with. I mean attempted murder on a federal agent won't sit well." Gideon said

"I didn't do anything so you have nothing to hold me on or threaten me with."

"I'm going to say this once and once only. This is your deal. You give us the names of the men you brought with you and I will speak with the D.A and have it so that you go to a medium security prison where you will be in protective custody for the duration of your time there. When you come out your records can be sealed so you can still work in an alright job. You'll never be in law enforcement, but at least you won't be stuck working in some fast food joint. However that deal comes off the table when we walk out that door. If you still want a lawyer that's your right but if we walk out that door there will be no deal. You will go to a maximum prison in general population and I will set it so you don't get bail. You'll be in that prison until your trial date where you will be up for multiple charges. So decided real quick." Hotch said

He and Gideon stood up they weren't going to give Jordan much time to think about it. They weren't about to play around with Jordan going back and forth. Jordan wanted a lawyer so they wouldn't push this conversation any further. Hotch meant what he said he could work out the deal with the D.A for Jordan's cooperation with this case. Hotch didn't hate Jordan, but he certainly wasn't going to give him any more than one chance to make this right. They were just at the door when Jordan's voice could be heard.

"Fine. I want the deal in writing and signed by the D.A before I say anything."

"Deal."

Hotch and Gideon walked out of the room so they could go and talk to the D.A that was waiting for them at the station. Once all the paperwork was done up and signed Gideon and Hotch went back into the room to speak with Jordan. Once Jordan signed it he then started to answer their questions.

"Andrew Freemen, Jake Harrason, and Daniel Walker are the ones that I called. We grew up together and we've always been there when the other called. I told them that I wanted to teach this know it all a lesson. We came up with the idea that we would take him and beat him up then leave him in the middle of nowhere. Jake had a work van so we used that to put him in."

"When exactly did you all decide to rape him?" Gideon asked

"We didn't. Jake drove because it was his van and no one would think otherwise about seeing it. I sat in the back with Andrew and Daniel. Daniel liked the way Reid looked he started talking about taking his pay from Reid."

"His pay?" Hotch interrupted

"Ya I told them that I would pay each of them three hundred for helping me out. Andrew seemed to be on board with taking his cut out of Reid. So I sat down on one of the benches in the back and let them. "

"You just sat there and watched as two of your friends raped an innocent twenty-one year old man?" Hotch asked

"Look the kid deserved it. He looked down on all of us and you just sat there and let him. He didn't belong in the BAU he couldn't hack it. He acted like he was better than all of us like he was too good to even be in our presence. He needed to be taken down a few knocks. So once they were done having their fun with him we drove to the warehouse district and left him in one of the rundown factories. I un-cuffed him and tied his naked ass up to a pole and we left."

"You left him for dead." Gideon said

"Someone would have found him eventually. Looks like he was able to untie the ropes I didn't even tie them that tight. It's not like he wouldn't have been able to escape."

"Only he didn't escape right away. He passed out from the pain you and your sick friends inflicted on him. He was out there for almost eight hours before he was back inside. If he had been outside for one more hour he would have been dead." Gideon said

"Our deal is off the table." Hotch said

"You can't do that it's signed by the D.A. you can't just renege on a deal."

"Actually in this case I can. That deal was made based on the knowledge that you had committed two felonies. Now I just found out that you paid three men to help you kidnap, assault and attempted murder of a federal agent. That's three felonies and by law a person being charged with three felonies or more is a mandatory fifty years to life sentence. No bail and no parole. So that deal is no longer valid based on that law alone." Hotch said

"This is entrapment my lawyer will have this thrown out of court." Jordan was pissed that he had been played.

"This isn't entrapment. You sentenced yourself when you decided to pay three of your friends to do this to not only a federal agent but a kid. He's twenty-one years old and when you should have took this opportunity to help him and guide him through this job you decided to be judgmental and jealous of him. There's nothing I can do or any other lawyer can do for you now Jordan. With that third felony we are all bound by the law. Three strikes and you're out. Someone will be in to take you down to county you made your bed now you get to lie in it." Hotch said

Hotch and Gideon both got up and headed out the door. They ignored the yells from Jordan as they made their way out. He did this to himself there was nothing they could do about that. Hotch did have every intentions of abiding by the deal they had made, but when he had admitted to committing that third felony his hands were tied. There was nothing he could do it was the law and he had to abide by that law just like everyone else. They joined Morgan and JJ in the conference room that they had been using since they originally got this case. They were working on paper work and their statements of what just happened in the last twenty-four hours.

"What happened?" Morgan asked as they entered the room.

"He made a deal and told us who was with him and what happened." Hotch said

"So what deal did he get away with?" JJ asked

"In the end he didn't get one. We were all set even had it signed by the D.A." Gideon said

"So what happened?" Morgan asked again

"Jordan admitted that he paid three of his friends three hundred dollars to help him kidnap, assault and tie Reid up outside. We were not aware that he had paid them any money. With that information he was sitting on three felonies no deal could be honored." Hotch said

"Three felony law, and now with a confession he'll be sitting in a maximum prison for fifty plus years. Good Reid deserves justice. Now when do we go after the other three sons of a bitches?" Morgan asked

"When we get back to the BAU I'll have local police round them up and bring them in. I'll question them and see if any wish to confess. Doesn't matter though we have their names on tape from Jordan's confession; they'll be doing time one way or another." Hotch answered.

"Do you think Spence will still quit?" JJ asked

"I'm not sure I'm hoping he will take a few days to think about it. In the end if he does decide to walk away I'll be supportive of that just like I have always been supportive of him." Gideon said

"There must be something we can do though." Morgan said

"Right now I think he needs space and time to get his mind around what happened. I don't want him feeling pressured to stay. If he stays I want it to be, because he wants to be here with us." Hotch said

"So now what do we do?" Morgan asked

"We go home. We take a shower and get some rest and food and water into us. I'll call Strauss and see to it that we have a few days off to recover from everything that happened."

"Where is Spence going to be?"

"He's going to be staying with me for a little while."

"At least he won't be alone." Morgan said

"He won't be and he will be alright in time with what happened. Let's get the hell out of here." Gideon said

With that they all gathered their things and headed out the door. Gideon got home to find that Reid was staring out the back sliding door. Gideon knew that look and it was one that Reid had when he was deep in thought. Obviously whatever Morgan had said to him had gotten him to think about the situation more.

"Spencer what are you thinking about?"

Reid turned around at the sound of Gideon's voice. He hadn't heard him coming in he was so far lost in his thoughts. Reid couldn't help but think about what Morgan had said about wanting him on the team and that he belonged with them.

"Did you speak with Morgan before he drove me back to the station?"

"I explained the situation and I told him not to pressure you. Why did he say something?"

Reid turned around and started pacing around the living room. Gideon sat down on the couch he was used to Reid pacing when he was confused. It was one of his many tells. Gideon sat down on the couch and just waited for Reid to get his thoughts together.

"He told me that he was sorry for anything hurtful that he might have said. He said that he didn't mean anything nasty by it that he teases everyone on the team in a brotherly way."

"He does do that with everyone on the team. He even did it a few times with Hotch when the mood called for it."

Reid just nodded and continued pacing around.

"Was that all he said?"

"No he said that he wanted me on the team that I belonged there."

"You do belong on the team. Is it that it came from his mouth?"

"You've said it before that I belonged on the team. I just didn't expect to hear it from someone else. Especially someone like Morgan."

"Because Morgan looks like the people who have bullied you in the past." Gideon stated

"Yes. On that case when we went to the library he told me that if anyone was giving me a hard time to let him know. He said that he would take care of it. He told me how I needed to learn how to stand up for myself otherwise the local police would walk all over me. He even started to tell Jordan off when he went too far."

"Morgan looks like someone that could be a bully. The truth is though that he has a loving family and he sticks up for the under dogs. Back in his home town he even helps out at a youth center for the neighborhood children. He's a good man and he protects those on the team and anyone else that is innocent."

"I can't believe I judged him. I've been judged my whole life and I just turned around and judged him."

"It's natural that you would judge Morgan. You've been bullied and tormented your whole life it's only natural for you to assume that someone who looks like Morgan would act the same way as the others."

Reid didn't say anything for a few minutes he just continued to keep pacing around the living room. Finally he spoke again.

"I don't know what to do."

"That's perfectly alright. You don't have to have the answers right now. Take some time and think it over and see what you truly want to do. If you want to continue working for the BAU then you can. If you decide that you can't then that's okay to. Just make sure whatever your decision is, it's one that you won't regret."

Reid just gave a nod and stopped pacing. His body was still in a great deal of pain so he went and sat down in one of the chairs.

"What's going to happen to Jordan?"

"He's going to jail. Hotch had a deal worked out with the D.A but we couldn't abide by it when he told us that he paid the three men to do this. That made it his third felony so the deal was revoked. He did give us the names of the other three and PD are picking them up and charging them. Everyone will be going to jail for a very long time."

"So does that mean I can go home?"

"Spencer that place isn't safe or livable you must know that."

"We've had this conversation before you know that's all I can afford with my mom's medical bills."

"I know and Hotch's wife, her sister is a real-estate agent and he's going to see if she can work something out so you can be in a better area for the same price."

"You told Hotch?"

"I didn't tell him about your mother. I only told him that you were living there and what condition the house was in. I told him that you had to help pay your mother's bills back home that was all."

"I don't need help. You know I don't like it."

"I know, but Spencer every now and then you need to accept help when it is offered. If Hotch's sister in-law can get you a better place for the same price then why not?"

"I don't like handouts."

"It's not a handout it's a friend helping another friend. I suggest you get used to it."

"I'm not sure that's something I can get used to."

"You will. For right now though I'm going to shower and then go to bed. You look like you could use some sleep as well."

"Ya definitely. I'm glad we were able to get to you guys in time."

"You did really good Spencer. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks"

"Alright I'm turning in. Good night Spencer."

"Good night Gideon."

Gideon got up and headed into his bedroom so he could shower in his master bath. Reid decided that he was tired so he headed into the guest room to get some sleep. Over the next few days things seemed to happen that Reid couldn't even get his mind around. Hotch's sister in-law was able to get him a new apartment in a much better part of town. Morgan actually lived three blocks away from him. He was able to move in at the beginning of the month. Everyone on the team had told him that they would help him move his things. The local PD was able to pick up the three men that helped Jordan with the attack. They all plead guilty when they heard that Jordan had confessed to what happened. It was finally three weeks later when Reid's doctor cleared him to go back to work if he wanted. That night he was able to move into his new apartment and the team was all there like thy said they would be. They all went out to dinner afterwards and for the first time Reid felt like this might just actually work out. That maybe just maybe he belonged somewhere finally. So it was no shock when Monday morning came and Reid walked through those glass doors of the BAU. He went over and sat down at his desk and not one person on the team acted any differently towards him. It was like nothing had ever happened and for the first time in his life Reid was a part of a family.


End file.
